A few years ago, I moved to a window office and sent an email letting everyone know. In the email, I jokingly invited everyone to come by for a "tour"ofthe new space.
I was in a meeting that morning and when I got back to my office, I saw a box on my desk. There was a note on it, saying, "Happy new office!" The person didn't sign it. I was so happy with that. I didn't feel like I should help anyone or that someone was trying to get something from me. In fact, I found myself thanking everyone in the office. It was completely different from what I did on the beach the other day.
The water was coming in. Two nice chairs were about to be taken out by the waves. The owners were nowhere to be seen, so I moved the chairs again and again as the waves rose. When the couple who owned the chairs showed up, I couldn't help myself. I went over, pointed to the waves, and said, "A couple of hours ago, your chairs were out there."
"Oh, thanks so much for pulling them in," said the guy. "We just realized they were out here and thought they had probably gotten washed away."
"Don't worry about it," I said, as I walked away. Then these words came to my mind, "You have your reward (回报)."
Then I realized when I went over to the couple, I was looking for something. If they hadn't shown anything after I told what I had done, it would have upset me. In our life, people who show their good deeds (行为) are always looking for a reward and they resent those who don't celebrate their generosity (慷慨).
However, when we experience the pleasure of giving without letting the othersknow, we do more than show kindness. We're just giving to communicate an invaluable message, "You're loved. You're important to someone and it has nothing to do with what you can give in return."
