My Extraordinary Birthday Gift

I just saw some heart melting YouTube videos on giving. (I have added one at the bottom). It reminded me a lot of moments in my life. But a gift I received on a Birthday is one of my favorite moments. I thought it would be nice to share because you might still wait for the auspicious time of giving.

Once I rented one room inside a house near my college. So I lived there with the owners; a 5 years old girl, her mum and servant lady. Her dad lived separately and he occasionally visited her. Let’s call this little girl, Sarah… (because it’s my favorite name 🙂 ) A little brown girl with a wavy hair and black eyes.

After struggling and going through tough times, Sarah’s mum ended up being a midwife, a writer and an actress (She is really pretty). She also was presenting in TV programs on children’s health. All those work made her a very busy woman, and could not care about Sarah like an ordinary mum. But she was always really kind and helpful for everyone.

Although I also was busy with my studies (including the missed semester’s work, due to an accident), I could never say ‘No’ to Sarah. She drew pictures and brought it to me asking,

“Is this beautiful?”

When I came early, I fed her telling stories about birds and fairies. Sometimes for dinner she wanted a table arrangement with candle lights and I did it. Listening to her endless sweet stories about school and friends… She said that they called her ‘little squirrel’ because she was smaller than others. 🙂 Oh I never got tired of them. I named her ‘little butterfly’.

Days passed like that; then it was my birthday! In the morning I told her that it was my B’day and I came in the evening, bringing her a piece of cake. At once she appeared and gave me something saying ‘Happy Birthday’ with her cute tweeting voice. I thought,

“Wow.. a gift! But what is it?? A chocolate? A toy? or what a 2.5 feet tall girl can give me??”

It was really easy to identify that she wrapped it because it was not a ‘normal perfect and neat wrap’. I was curious about the gift and she looked curious about my expression. You know what… unbelievable!!! It was a green lid of a plastic container!

You might think “What? Who is gonna give a lid as a Birthday gift”  I looked at her, and her eyes were full of love and she really meant to show some respect for everything I did for her. I had no words, got stuck and just gave a biiiig hug (yes! a mega sized one 🙂 ). Still I cannot forget the expression she had when I appreciated,

“You are soo sweet.. you remembered my birthday, and this is the loveliest present I ever received.”

Just think! How big your savings should be, to be a giver? Well, $0 will be more than enough. Your time, kind words, smile…  They will matter the most. What I did for her is being a good friend and a good listener. In return what did I get? A green lid?? No my friend, it may be a lid physically, but actually it represented love, gratitude and care. May be that’s all she had, but chose to give it to me. Yes! roses, teddy bears and chocolates are not the only symbols of love. It can be anything (including a lid). It doesn’t matter, as long as the love is in heart… 🙂

So start giving now.. yes now.. right now itself. One day you will be happier about being selfless, not being selfish…