2 Minutes Motivation
What Are Your Precious Gems?
Take a moment to review this
We go through experiences and situations in life where we are forced to make instant decisions. These are the moments that show us who we truly are. To illustrate, here’s a great story I read some years ago. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
There was once a merchant. While strolling through the market, he saw a camel for sale. He was interested in buying it and bargained with the camel-seller. Pleased with the price, he walked home with his newly-purchased camel.
Once he got home, he asked his helper to remove the camel’s heavy saddle. When the helper did this, he found a small velvet pouch. Curious, he opened it and was shocked to find it filled with precious gems.
He showed it to the merchant, who was also quite surprised to see this. The sight of the gems was dazzling as the precious gems shone in the sunlight.
Said the merchant, “I bought the camel” he said, “but not these gems. I must return them to the camel seller immediately.”
The helper was aghast. he said, “Sir, You should keep it. No one will know.”
The merchant, however, went right back to the market and on finding the camel seller, handed him the velvet pouch with the precious gems. Naturally, the camel seller was happy. He said, “I had completely forgotten that I had hidden these gems in the camel’s saddle for safekeeping.”
And then, he went on to tell the merchant, “Please choose one of these gems for yourself, as a reward.”
The merchant replied, “I paid a fair price for the camel. There’s no need to thank me or give me a reward for returning what is yours.”
The camel seller kept insisting that the merchant should take something.
The merchant finally said, “Actually while bringing the velvet pouch back to you, I already took two of the most precious gems for myself.”
The camel seller was now confused and quickly checked the pouch to see what was missing. Even more perplexed, he said, “But all my gems are here. What did you keep?”
The merchant replied, “The two most precious ones. My integrity and my dignity.”
We all have our most precious gems. For some it is family. For some, their dreams. But what tops everything is honesty, integrity, dignity, kindness…you add to the list.
What are your precious gems?
Do you tend to focus on what you don’t have in life? Are you a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty type of person? Read Pene Hodge’s wisdom-filled post about how to always see the glass as half-full.
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