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 and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.
"I've been thinking," he said, "I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me something more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.
About 7 years ago I spent a week at Harbin Hot Springs in Northern California. I met a lot of wonderful people there, but one stood out and remained in my heart since then. His name was Gilbert. He was a Native American who lived close by and spent a lot of time there. I met him my first day just briefly, but every time I saw him after that he greeted me like old friends.
He was one of the most selfless, giving human beings I have ever met. I got a pretty nasty case of poison ivy and pretty soon Gilbert appeared with some kind of sap from a walnut tree which he proceeded to smear over my rash. Said it was an old indian cure for poison ivy. He showed me a picture of himself at a pow-wow and when I told him how much I liked it, he immediately gave it to me. He came to show me a new leather coat he'd gotten with incredible beadwork, and when I told him how beautiful it was, he looked so sad and said he'd like to give it to me, but it was too big. But the next day he appeared with an older leather jacket and insisted I take it. I kept trying to refuse these gifts, but he wouldn't hear of it. If anything at all made my face light up, Gilbert would try to give it to me.
One day in the dining hall when I tried to stop Gilbert from going to get me something or other I had shown an interest in, someone came over to me and said, "You know, Gilbert is a little slow".
Gilbert was indeed a child in his heart and soul, and like children, fresh from and still in contact with Spirit, he had not forgotten who he was. Have you ever told a little child how beautiful their toy is? The first thing they do is hold it out to give it to you. They find such joy in giving joy. That's because they haven't yet learned the ways of the physical world, and are still very much in contact with Spirit. And so is Gilbert.
When I first heard this story, it reminded me of this precious man. The man some call slow and I call close to God. We exchanged letters for awhile after I left, but soon lost track of him. His presence was the best gift he ever gave me, and it lingers in my heart forever.
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