(Written by a former teacher in Shanghai)

          Ive just read the blog article entitled "Giving is Better than Getting", and it touched my heart.  The author is obviously young, but he already has a golden heart.  He may have been alone at times, but he will never be lonely because he always thinks of things to do for others.  His pleasure is in making his friends happy.  He is to be praised.

          I associate his story with one of mine.  I, too, like to help others, but I don't like to talk about it very much.  I was a teacher for a long time at a school where no lunch was served.  Teachers who lived near the school went home at noon, but I stayed there and had steamed bread and a salt egg every day.  There were four other teachers who decided to order their lunches from a cook in the neighborhood who would deliver them to the school.  When she brought them, she'd place the hot dishes on a table in our office.

          In China, most people like their food to be hot, and while eating my lunch one day in the winter, I worried that their food would be cold by the time they finished their classes.  Each of the dishes had a cover, but they'd cool off quickly, and I couldn't think of a way to keep them warm until my raincoat caught my eye, and I used it to try to cover them.  I couldn't get it over all of them so I piled some of the dishes on each other so the raincoat would be big enough.\

          After the teachers' classes were over, they entered the office to enjoy their lunch, and I sat in a corner - near my desk - reading a book.  One of them picked uip the raincoat quickly and the top dish fell off.  Then another one fell, and finally they all collapsed.  The food splashed all over the table and the scene frightened me.  I didn't know what to do, but kept silent even though one of the teachers was very angry and kept saying, "Who did this?"

          Another teacher in the room recognized my raincoat and figured out that I'd probably done it.  She told me to keep calm and not do anything.

          I don't know how they had lunch that day because I continued to read my book, but the next day I told them that I was the culprit.  I was deeply apologetic and tried to give them money to pay for the food that had been lost, but they said it wasn't my fault.  They knew that I had been trying to help them, and they appreciated what I had done.

          A person may have a good purpose in mind when helping others, but sometimes there is a bad result.  That's very common.  At first, I blamed myself for what had happened, but later on I decided I'd continue to do what I could for others and put what had happened out of my mind.

          I feel more comfortable when I'm helping others. 

(Written by a student at Macao University)

          Many people fail to realize that "it is more blessed to give than to receive", and I have found those words from the Bible to be true; I've had that experience in my life.

          I've always tended to help others when I believed that I could.  I've helped in many ways such as bringing lunch to those who don't have time to buy it or tutoring  those in trouble with their studies.  When a person succeeds, I celebrate, too, and when people complain, I lend a friendly ear.  As a result, I felt that I had made a lot of friends in the apartment building where I live.

          Most of the time, I only get a quick "Thanks" after my mission is complete.  I assume that they even forget completely the help I've been after a couple of days have passed.  They sometimes make jokes about of what I've done by saying that it isn't right to be a good person today.  In response, I generally just look at them and say, "I never expect to get anything in return".

          Even though I didn't change my behavior, my spirit of giving began to fall into the shadows.  I asked myself, "Why aren't people friendlier?  Why are there gaps between our hearts?"  I was consoled by the fact that I knew a small group of human beings who continue to donate their time to change what can be an unfeeling world.

          I played basketball a few days after those thoughts had been going through my head, and in fighting for the ball I fell when I lost my balance, and my right ankle was badly sprained.  I screamed and rolled over toward the sidelines.  When I finally got up, I wasn't able to put my right foot down.  I had to hop on the left one.

          At the hospital - while sitting on a chair in the crowded waiting room - the most pain I felt wasn't in my ankle; it was in my heart.  I could see through the window the darkness outside, there was a textbook in my hand for tomorrow's class, but not one of the people who call me their friend was there.  It was depressing to think that all of them could be so blind to my need for companionship right then.

          I was surprised a few days later to discover the experience had helped me become more mature.  It came to me that I never really wanted to get angry with anyone; I wanted to live a life in which my soul would always be at peace.  I'd just make a practice of staying calm - even when problems arise, and I knew that I'd continue volunteer work as I'd learned once more that the old axiom is true: "It is more blessed to give than to receive".

(Written by a student in Macao University.)

          The new semester began on February 18th, and everything is going well.  I am studying much harder than I did last semester as I hope to become an entrepreneur one day.  The factor that pushes me to earn money came to me in a dream during my last vacation.  It has now become a personal goal.

          Receiving pocket money in red envelopes from adults is a tradition that benefits Chinese children during the lunar New Year.  I was already over 18 years of age when I returned home from Macao, but I still found that money flowed toward me.

          I wanted to reject the cash, but couldn't get it stopped.  Every one of the elder members of my extended family was excited as they showed their care and love in that way.  My pockets eventually became filled with money.

          That night - when I got myself calmed down in bed - I reviewed what had happened that day.  I couldn't get out of mind the fact that it's really an unfair world.  Wealth comes easily to some children while others live in poverty.  Who knows how many children got an abundance of red pocket money and enjoyed sweet dreams that night while at the same time others wandered the streets tasting only snow on their lips, as they had nothing in their pockets.

          Most of us appear to be the same.  Why do some of us have to confront the huge gap that exists between us.

          I closed my eyes as I made a promise that I vowed to keep:

          I'd donate.