Happiness in Sharing

I always say, when we start living our life thinking about “We” rather than “I” we will find peace and happiness. It is very easy to become absorbed in our own problems, desires, wants and ambitions. I say we must look beyond ourselves. When we work together everyone wins. Did you know trees in the forest operate an underground social network? If a tree is short of water, for example, other trees allow it to absorb from their root network. This is how we all should work together. Nature is our best teacher. I hope you enjoy this short story shared with me recently.

A wise teacher once brought balloons to school, told her pupils to blow them up and write their name on one. After the children tossed their balloons into the hall, the teacher moved through the hall mixing them all up. The kids were given five minutes to find the balloon with their name on it, but though they searched frantically, no one found their own balloon.

Then the teacher told them to take the balloon closest to them and give it to the person whose name was on it. In less than two minutes, everyone was holding their own balloon.

The teacher said to the children, “These balloons are like happiness. We won’t find it when we’re only searching for our own. But if we care about someone else’s happiness…it will ultimately help us find our own.”