When You Have Nothing Give it Away
Years ago I came across an inspiring message about a six year old girl. The story was re-told in Rosamund and Benjamin Zander’s book The Art of Possibility.
I heard Rosamund deliver the opening key note address at the Health, Work and Wellness Conference held in Vancouver October 2006. She is a gifted artist, family therapist and visionary in leadership, creativity, human development and effective action. Her husband Benjamin has been the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic since its foundation in 1979. Besides his stellar musical career he is sought after as a speaker to major organizations for his presentations on leadership and creativity.
The story follows:
Inscribed on five of the six pillars in the Holocaust Memorial at Quincy Market in Boston are stories that speak of the cruelty and suffering in the camps. The sixth pillar presents a tale of a different sort, about a little girl named Ilse, a childhood friend of Guerda Weissman Kline, in Auschwitz. Guerda remembers that Ilse, who was about six years old at the time, found one morning a single raspberry somewhere in the camp. Ilse carried it all day long in a protected place in her pocket, and in the evening, her eyes shining with happiness, she presented it to her friend Guerda on a leaf. “Imagine a world,” writes Guerda, “in which your entire possession is one raspberry, and you give it to your friend.”
This story touches my heart. With love to you dear readers. Trudy
Notes:
1:) Allow me to clarify: I don’t give you this story as some kind of moral suasion to give everything away. (I’m sure you know that by now) I pass it on because it illustrates the amazing beauty of a child’s intrinsic human nature. Viktor Frankl writes about these kinds of experiences he witnessed in concentration camp, in Man’s Search for Meaning. And it also reminds me that it is the little things we do that can make a big difference. Ilse inspires me and keeps me hopeful.
2:)Our nature prescription: The sound of the loon from the Cornell library. I recall the moments when I first heard the call of the loon. Summertime – a lake in the interior of BC and the quiet of the evening. Haunting and beautiful. I was awestruck.
3:) An invitation to find an unsung hero in your life and tell them so. Let them know how they make your life better, while you can.
4:) I am grateful to be able to write these posts every week and over the moon blessed that you kindly read them. Thank you! May this new month hold many lovely surprises for you all. Warmly, Trudy
It is hard to imagine a world in which my one possession is anything, but I would love to imagine that I would give it away to a friend. i wonder what such a world would be like. Imagine. xoxo
Imagine!!
Thank you dear Janice.
#3 is a fav. for I too, tell people how grateful I am for them or a simple, I love you.
So to you my friend Trudy, I love you.
Thank you Kathryn. This is the great thing about love. It is a wellspring. The more we love the more love we have. I love you back.
This is a beautiful post, as always. For myself, I give attention and praise as a spiritual practice. My beloved father, long deceased, had a way of leaving everyone he met feeling good about themselves, because he listened.
Thank you Laura. Your Father gave a special gift, one in short supply. The gift of his attention. Sounds like you are much the same. Warmly, Trudy