Givers and Takers

[turningjapanese]

The takers are the people who believe their lives will always be the
total of what they can manipulate from the world. They are always thinking
get, get, get. They plan and scheme ways to get what they want in
money, in love, in happiness, and in all kinds of good... but whatever
may be their spiritual ideals or lack of any, no matter what they
take, they can never know peace or security or fulfillment.

The givers, on the other hand, are convinced life is a giving process.
Thus their subtle motivation in all their ways is to give themselves
away, in love, in service, and in all the many helpful ways they can
invest themselves. They are always secure, for they intuitively know
that their good flows from within.

Eric Butterworth
American Author, Philosopher and Minister

[T.J.]

One day Mulla Nasruddin saw a crowd gathered around a pond. A Muslim
priest with a huge turban on his head had fallen in the water and was
calling for help. People were leaning over and saying, "Give me your
hand, Reverend! Give me your hand!" But the priest didn't pay
attention to their offer to rescue him; he kept wrestling with the
water and shouting for help.
Finally the Mulla stepped forward. "Let me handle this." He
stretched out his hand toward the priest and shouted at him, "Take my
hand!"
The priest grabbed the Mulla's hand and was hoisted out of the
pond. People, very surprised, asked the Mulla for the secret of his
strategy.
"It is very simple," he replied, "I knew this miser wouldn't give
anything to anyone. So instead of saying, 'Give me your hand,' I
said, 'Take my hand,' and sure enough he took it."

Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi
as collected by James Fadiman & Robert Frager

[bramble]

Funny story.