A colleague recently sent me the story below called “The Wise Woman’s Stone.”  The author is unknown, but its meaning is priceless.  Take a look for yourself:

The Wise Woman’s Stone

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone in the wise woman’s bag, admired it, and asked the wise woman to give it to him. The wise woman did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the jewel was worth enough to give him security for the rest of his life. But a few days later he came back, searching for the wise woman. When he found her, he returned the stone and said, “I have been thinking. I know how valuable this stone is, but I give it back to you in the hope that you can give me something much more precious. If you can, give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.”

Notice a few things about this story.  First, the woman is called “wise” seven times.  Why do you think she is considered wise?  Second, the woman was generous.  You’ll notice that she gave of her food to the hungry traveler.  Then, she gave him the stone “without hesitation”.  Finally, the traveler returned the stone to her because he realized that what she had within her was more valuable than the material items she possessed.

This is a great lesson for us… What lies within us is much more valuable than what material items we possess.  Integrity… Service… Kindness… Character… Wisdom… Generosity… Sharing… Love… Respect… Courage… Humility… When we “give” these away to others, we add real and lasting value to the lives of others.

Have a productive day!  And remember, a single encouraging act by you today can completely change the day for someone else!