That year the drought had turned all of New Jersey's lush green meadows brown early that year, and huge, centuries-old trees had dried up and shed their leaves long before their time. Thousands of trees in forests and groves withered and died of thirst.

A young agronomist named Greenfield was driving down a narrow dusty road when he came across an old woman dragging a bucket of water.

He felt both pity and curiosity for the sweating woman, so far from town, in such hot weather. He opened the car window and told her he would take her wherever she wanted to go. The woman pointed to a small house about a kilometer away, said she had already been there, and thanked him.
Greenfield followed behind her, wondering what she would do with a bucket of water. She went to an old oak tree in the farthest corner of the garden and watered it with a bucket of water. All her tiredness was worth it, and a smile of serenity covered her face. She stroked the bark of the tree with her old hands.

The young man came to her: "You must love this tree very much to carry a bucket of water from so far away in this heat to water it?" The old woman looked at him with a smile:" I am almost 81 years old and this tree is my only surviving friend. I was a little boy when I made friends with it. I used to play under it with my friends, none of whom are here anymore, we used to cool off here on the way back from school, I used to hide here when my mother was angry with me, my husband proposed to me under this tree... If this tree dries up, I will have lost my last friend..."

The young agronomist took a long and careful look at the century-old giant oak tree, but was saddened to see that it was drying up, so he said goodbye to the woman and left...
The next day, as the old woman approached her tree again with her bucket in her hand, she saw five or six workers working around the tree with picks and shovels, so she put down the bucket and started running and shouting: "Let go of my tree, don't touch it!...."

The man at the head of the workers took off his cap and bowed respectfully: "We are here to save your tree, ma'am, not to do anything bad to it," he said. "We have dug canals around the roots of your tree and filled them with water from the tanker, and for a long time this water will be enough to save your tree."

The old woman saw the name "Greenfield Nursery" on the tanker, "but I didn't call you? Who sent you here?" The man replied respectfully: "He didn't say the name, sir, we don't know".
As she saw them off, she thanked them one by one, her eyes sparkling with tears and her heart full of love and gratitude...

Mother Teresa once said, "There are no big acts, only small acts of great love." Who knows how many lives we can change and touch with small acts of kindness and empathy? What random acts of kindness or insensitive attitudes of beauty can we strive to offer to make someone's day just a little bit better? The irony of being more compassionate is that giving something to others makes you feel good about yourself.

As Emerson put it:" "Wealth is an ugly beggar without a rich heart." Tolstoy wrote about this: "The way to happiness depends on throwing a sticky web of love in all directions, like a spider, and embracing everything."

In the post-capitalist era, there seems to be no other way out but love and empathy, we all have to create and throw a sticky web of love. Then even tiny touches will turn into huge vibrations at the other end of the web, touching and changing many lives. A little effort, a little love. Very big things will be achieved with very small things...

This is what I have always emphasized. The universe has a balance and you cannot take without giving. He who sows love reaps love, he who sows hate reaps hate. When you help someone, when you give love, help will surely come from somewhere else in another way, whatever you need. Giving.... Giving... Giving without expecting anything in return! This is the talisman! This is the shortcut! That's the summary!!! You can't get without giving! I'm not necessarily talking about something material. Take an elderly person by the hand and lead them across the street, give them a glass of water, give them your love, thank them, apologize to them. Give way in traffic. Above all, give your smile, smile. Smile without expecting anything in return. From today onwards, smile and greet 10 people you don't know every day. Spread the greetings among you. This is something very precious, very special. Happiness will spread like glue...

Mukaddes Pekin Başdil

Researcher-Author

Source: Denizli Haber