But another form of charity is much more precious: time.
Dedicating our time to assist others in need is not easy, especially in today’s modern times, when our attention is constantly being pulled in multiple directions all at once. But with some ingenuity, creativity and grit, we can come together to make great things happen.
Stone Soup
Are you familiar with the old folk story concerning ‘Stone Soup’?
No ?
Well, it goes somewhat like this: Some travellers come to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty cooking pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the hungry travellers.
Then the travellers go to a stream and fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travellers answer that they are making “stone soup”, which tastes wonderful, although it still needs a little bit of garnish to improve the flavour, which they are missing.
The villager does not mind parting with a few carrots to help them out, so that gets added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travellers again mention their stone soup which has not reached its full potential yet. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning to help them out.
More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient. Finally, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by all.
