Today I would like to share a story with you that has deeply touched me over the years, shared with me by one of my students. The story is about a very special interaction my student had with a friend of his who was in the US Marines:

This friend came up to him one day, handed him a medal, and said, “I want this to be yours.”

My student was, naturally, more than a little surprised. He looked at him and said, “But how can you say that? This is a remarkable expression of appreciation, from the highest office in the US government. The President of the country invited you to the White House, gave you this medal as an appreciation for an amazing heroic act that you committed in the war-fields, and you want to give it to me? Why would you want to do that?”

And his friend looked at him, smiled, and said, “Listen, I just have this commitment of taking that one object which is the most precious to me, every year, and giving it to someone else. I want to share that joy with someone else…This year I got this medal from the President. It is the most precious object in my life, and you’re the person I want to give it to.”

Isn’t that remarkable?

What my student learned in that moment, and perhaps what we all can learn from this anecdote is that true giving — giving from the heart — is when what you’re giving is not peripheral to your life. It is when you take something that you truly treasure and offer it to the world.

I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed hearing it!

Warmly,
Hitendra

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