High in the Wudang mountains of China there lived a wise woman. One day she found a precious stone while sitting by the banks of a running stream, and she placed this highly valued item in her bag. The next day a hungry traveller approached the woman and asked for something to eat. As she reached into her bag for a crust of bread, the traveller saw the precious stone and imagined how it would provide him with financial security for the remainder of his life. He asked the woman to give the treasure to him, and she did, along with some food. He left ecstatic in his good fortune and the knowledge that he was now financially secure.
A few days later the traveller returned and handed back the stone to the wise woman. "I've been thinking," he told her. "Although I know how valuable this is, I'm returning it to you in the hopes that you can give me something even more precious." "What would that be?" the woman inquired. "Please give me what you have within yourself that enabled you to give me that stone," said the man.
Photo by jhandelman; narrative slightly modified from Excuses Begone by Dr. Wayne Dyer.
