Toilet Paper

I was at the temple when I had a sudden stomachache. I dashed to the nearest restroom... and to my expectations, being a busy day with hundreds of people, it was out of toilet paper. I struggled to the next available toilet- a less "popular" one, searching desperately in each cubicle. Thank goodness there was a roll with a few scanty rounds of paper on it. I had an urge to rip it all out, to use all of whatever was left. But the thought struck me that there might be another poor fellow out there facing the same problem I did. Brimming with gratitude to the last person who saved some paper for me, I used slightly less than half of what was left.

 

About two hours later, surprise, surprise... I was hit by another stomachache! Once again, I dashed to the restroom- the first which I approached earlier. Nope, it hasn't been stocked up with fresh rolls of paper yet. Feeling rather hopeless, I returned to the less "popular" one, almost convinced there would be no paper left... Surprise, surprise... in the same cubicle I used, whatever remained of the paper still remains. The "others" that I had thought of saving paper for turned out to be myself! I became the "others!" Guess what I did? Brimming with gratitude to the last person who saved some paper for me, even though it was me, I used only half of what was left.

What is the moral of the story? It pays to be grateful- to have a heart of gratitude to all the blessings in life - even if it is mere toilet paper in a public toilet. We should never "squander" our blessings by taking them for granted. Whatever goes around comes around in the name of karma. It pays to be kind, to have Compassion for others- because you never know who it could be! In the end, being kind to others is being kind to yourself too.

 

-- Author Unknown