My Neighbor's Corn
by Naren Kini

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There was once a farmer who grew excellent quality corn. Every year he won the award for the best corn. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seeds with his neighbors.

“How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked.

“Why sir,” said the farmer, “Don’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.”

So it is with our lives. Those who want to live meaningfully and well must help enrich the lives of others, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. The quality of response and joy depends on the quality of thoughts and love we share and spread.

And those who choose to be joyful must help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all.

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My Neighbor's Corn How do you relate to the notion of sharing your best gifts with those around you? Can you share a personal experience of a time when a gift you shared came back around to you? What helps you stay rooted in the circle of life in your daily decisions?

Jagdish P Dave wrote: I love a beautifulsaying I had read a long time ago> it is in Sanskrit: " Udar charitanmavasudhaivakutumkam." For those whose hearts are filled with generosity, the whole universe becomes...

david doane wrote: I like Kini's story -- that doing for others is doing for self. I believe in sharing my best gifts with those around me. What I share with others affects and hopefully benefits them and every one ...

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