What Goes Around Comes Around

One day a man saw a old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry ...

He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you.

He said, 'I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.'

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty who had given him a hand, in the past. He had lived his whole life that way and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, 'And think of me.'

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her.

The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.

There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: 'You don't owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.'

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard ...

She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, 'Everything's going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.'

There is an old saying 'What goes around comes around.' Today you've come here and read this story, and I'm asking you to pass it on. Let this light shine.

Simply, pass this story on ...

Good friends are like stars ...

You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.

Love life and live it creatively,

Leanne
If you’re looking to feel great about yourself and your life check out our fabulous audios at www.YourSuccessfulMind.com/FeelingGreat MindRight Programming Tools to put you back in the driver’s seat of your life!

The Right Of Consciousness

Cruising around the internet I found a recent issue of Rebecca Fine's newsletter, The Certain Way with a story by master story teller Alan Cohen about how world famous Austrian American violinist Fritz Kreisler came by his beloved Stradivarius violin.

Here's what Alan Cohen wrote:

Fritz Kreisler was a skilled and devoted violinist who had a lifelong dream to own a Stradivarius. For many years Fritz worked to earn enough money to buy the coveted and rare instrument.

Finally he took his life savings to New York City's music district and searched many stores. After numerous inquiries, he found a shop with a Stradivarius for sale. The shopkeeper went to the back of the store, removed the violin from under lock and key, and showed it to Fritz.

Fritz's eyes lit up and his heart began to pound as he held the delicate instrument to his neck and began to play. Heavenly tones sang forth, and Fritz knew this was indeed the instrument he had dreamed of.

When he asked the owner the price, Fritz was shocked to learn it was twice the amount he had saved. "Can we work out a payment plan?" asked Fritz hopefully.

"Sorry, we don't do that," answered the shopkeeper.

"Then will you hold the violin for me until I can borrow more money to purchase it?"

"I'm afraid I cannot do that, either, sir. If someone comes in and offers the asking price, I will have to sell it to that customer."

Fritz went home and scurried to gather together more money from friends and investors. He made slow progress, but within a month he found people to help him. Eagerly he returned to the music store and told the owner he was now able to make the purchase.

"You're just a little late," the shopkeeper explained. "A few days ago a wealthy collector came in and purchased the Stradivarius."

Fritz was crestfallen. He had come SO close to having his heart's desire! On his way out of the store, an idea occurred to him. He turned and asked the shopkeeper, "Would you give me the name of that collector? I will contact him directly and ask if he would sell it to me."

The shopkeeper gave Fritz the information, and he made an appointment to go see the owner.

"It's been my lifelong dream to own this instrument," Fritz told the fellow. "Would you consider selling it to me? I think I can get some more money to purchase it from you at a profit."

The owner shook his head and answered, "I'd like to help you out, but I know the value of this violin. It is the jewel of my collection. I intend to keep it as an heirloom."

"I understand," answered Fritz. "Perhaps, then, you would let me play the violin for just a minute or two. It would mean a lot to me, and I will keep the memory for a lifetime." The collector consented and handed Fritz the violin.

Joyfully Fritz took up the bow and, knowing he would never play this violin again, made the instrument sing with absolute passion. After a few minutes he returned the violin to its owner, thanked the man, and made his way to the door.

As Fritz had his hand on the door-knob, the owner called him back. "Don't go," he told him. "You made such beautiful music. I bought this violin simply as a collector's item. You will bring more happiness and beauty to the world with it than I will. The violin belongs to you. Here, please take it."

Society's rules of ownership are superseded by a profound spiritual principle called The Right of Consciousness. You own what you own not by money or force, but by your love for it and your spiritual connection to it.

Update: The Library of Congress has a collection of Stradivarius violins and Kreisler in keeping with the spirit of his benefactor so many years before, in 1952, Kriesler donated a violin made around 1730 to 1733 by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, another revered violin maker rivaled only by Antonio Stradivari.
Guarneri made another violin around that same time from the same wood as the "Kreisler" violin. The instrument, named the "Baron Vitta" after its first known owner, was acquired by Szymon Goldberg in 1958. In May 2007, the "Baron Vitta" was given to the Library by Goldberg's wife, Miyoko Yamane Goldberg, ultimately reuniting these "twin" instruments.

Love life and live it creatively,

Leanne
If you’re looking to feel great about yourself and your life check out our fabulous audios at www.YourSuccessfulMind.com/FeelingGreat MindRight Programming Tools to put you back in the driver’s seat of your life!