Becoming A Millionaire With A Piece Of Straw

A rich man born out of giving!

Given below is a mythological story from Japan about the beauty of giving to others and it tells us how we can receive the most perfect gifts when we’re giving and grateful of what we own.

Here is the story.

Once upon a time, there was a poor young farmer. Everything he did in his life never seemed to produce any wealth for him. He was totally broke with no money, no family and no food. So one night he sneaked into a temple and sat by the altar and in desperation asked the Gods what he was supposed to do.

“I have always been honest and hardworking, but all my hard work never produced any reward for me. What am I doing wrong?”

He fell asleep near the altar just after he put the question. When he woke up in the morning, he saw in front of him one of the Gods he had seen in his dream, with a bright golden light around him. The God’s voice reverberated in his mind.

“After you wake up in the morning, value that which you have in your hand and keep giving it fully to others as you move forward,” the God told him.

The farmer opened his eyes. There were many things that he wanted to ask but he managed to pull himself up and tried to remove the confusion of the strange dream. But there seemed to be a piece of straw in his hand. It must have remained stuck on his dress while he worked in his land.

He almost threw it away, but stopped short of doing it recollecting what God had said about it. He seated himself again and stared at the straw in his hand.

He sat still for a long time thinking what this meant. He had no clue why a piece of straw can be of any value to him. Then he saw a wasp flying around. It eventually landed on the tip of the straw. He caught the wasp and tied it to the straw with a piece of thread from his clothes. Now with a piece of straw with a flying wasp at the end, off he went on the path.

He had proceeded only a bit when he saw a woman and her child coming from the opposite direction. The child was crying. When he wished them, the boy saw the straw in the farmer’s hand with a wasp dangling at the end. The child was curious and asked the farmer if he could have it. He was about to refuse when he remembered how God had told him to cherish what he had and also at the same time to give to others what he had. So he offered the straw to the child. The mother became happy since the child stopped crying because of the gift. In return for the straw the lady gave the man three tangerines.

The farmer continued on. And as he walked, he began feeling a little hungry. He thought of eating the tangerines but he reminded himself it was about giving the gift to others, not to himself.

As he went over a steep hill, he saw a merchant sitting down on the ground by a tree. Next to him was a wooden box. The farmer said hello to the merchant. He seemed to be exhausted. The merchant saw the tangerines in the farmer’s hand and asked if he minded giving him the tangerines. He said he was so thirsty.

The farmer was also equally thirsty as the day was hot and he had walked pretty long, still he gave all the three tangerines to the trader. The man ate all the three tangerines and felt fully energized. He felt very thankful to the farmer who was so kind. To show his gratitude, he opened the box that he had kept near him. The box contained several bolts of hand dyed silk. The trader took out one roll, gifted it to the farmer and left.

The farmer proceeded again through the same route. He finally found a rivulet from which he drank water and felt restored. He felt more energetic and comfortable and went on.

He continued to walk for a long time but did not see anyone again. So he decided that the silk could be what would bring him luck. He felt he should go to the town nearby and try to sell the silk.

But just as he went around the corner, he saw in front of him a band of fighters. One of the fighters who looked liked the head of the band stood near a horse that was lying on the earth. The farmer heard the leader talking to his men.

“This horse is not likely to live long. We will have to abandon it here. Just look after it and follow me.” Saying this, he climbed on to another horse and rode off and disappeared.

The fighters who remained there conferred among themselves as to what to do. They had no interest in putting it to death but there was no other option. Finally one of them drew the sword.

The farmer ran to them and requested them to refrain from killing it. He opted to care for the animal. In return for that he gave them the bolt of silk he had. They were happy of the offer and went away fast.

Now the farmer stood there with a dying horse. He thought he might have made a mistake that after all he was not meant to be wealthy. Then he remembered something. There was the stream he’d just passed.

He turned back and went to the river, removed his shirt and immersed it in the river to get water for the horse. He went back to the animal lying on the earth and pressed the water out of the shirt gently into its mouth. As the water went inside drop by drop, the animal slowly got recharged and finally the farmer was able to help it stand up.

The horse finally stood up on its legs so the farmer could take the horse to the stream. As the horse took more water and ate some fresh green grass around the stream, it soon began to regain strength.

So now the farmer owned the horse! The man and the animal traveled together, and the farmer had to run as the horse led the way. They traveled together for miles. Finally, as the sun was setting, the horse came to a halt in front of a big house. The animal pushed the farmer towards the gate when he finally drew level with it.

As the farmer approached the gate, the doors swung open and to his surprise, an old man appeared. The old man was rushing outside and was looking a little pale. He noticed the farmer and the horse standing by the gate.

The old man asked the farmer what he was doing. The farmer said he was looking for a place to stay the night. The old man said he was going to the town for an urgent matter. He asked the farmer if he minded looking after his house until he returned. He said he might not be able to come back for a little while.

Since the old man appeared to be in a hurry, the farmer said that he can use the horse. The old man felt glad about the gesture and accepted the offer. He left with the horse but before he left told the farmer something strange.

“If I do not come back in three years’ time, this house belongs to you.”

As you possibly deduced, the old man did not come back.

So the farmer lived happily ever after in the old man’s big house with kind-hearted neighbours around and a land rich in good crops. He always kept in mind the rule that he should give to others what he had.

I am grateful to you for reading this story. And how did you feel about it?

Perhaps there is a secret to things. When we can turn the business of getting into the business of giving, our life gushes forward with greater plentitude. Still it might not be easy to incorporate into practical life this age old wisdom.

The following are the interesting principles we can see in the tale:

* When we give the things that others want, they usually value it more than we value it while when we are trying to ‘sell’ something (because fundamentally, we want to get something from the deal), they compare the value with our asking price and try to pay less.

* When we are not possessive of whatever we have, we will perceive that we thereby have more chances as we can release the existing possessions.

* When what life offers is not a bed of roses, instead of concentrating on the difficulty if we kept our attention on giving and sharing, life is sure to bring in good things later.

* If we try to turn into cash what we have accumulated, because of the conviction that “this is all it would get” thinking that if we do not encash it, we will lose, our life will stand still. Instead, why don’t we keep on giving more and more irrespective of what we have or whether we are actually rich or not.

Gifting is an inherent part of the lives of most winners. When we are ready to give first, we have better chances of living a life of perfection, ease and growth.

Find out more about how Buy1GIVE1 (BOGO) can transform your business using Cause Marketing.