Count Your Coins

I recollect a story I was told as a child. A young man wanted to travel around the world and learn lessons of life. He came across a merchant, who agreed to take him as his apprentice during his stay in the town. The young man studied and learnt from the miser merchant the value of money. As he continued his journey, he across a saint. From him, the young man learnt how he could help the needy without expecting anything in return. He concluded his journey with a simple message: one does not have to be so strongly attached to the earthly goods, nor so detached from it to do good deeds. One can still continue following both the paths by "counting your coins", i.e. if you do a good deed, add a gold coin to your account, and if do a bad deed, remove a coin from your account. To tally, get the total number of gold coins in your account. Try to be on the positive side.

This story has somehow become pervasive in my heart and thoughts. I try to judge my actions. My heart appreciates me for the good actions, and discourages for the bad. I feel examples of this "act of balancing" in simple daily task of life, as well almost all chefs - even seasoned - have the habit of tasting their food before they remove it from the stove; they ask themselves whether the dish is turning out good or bad.

I got this thought after I reprimanded Abigail for her mistake. I feel it is very hard to explain the difference between good and bad things to her at such a young age. I think the next time Abigail needs to be corrected, I should place myself in her situation and judge whether and how should I be punished so that I dont commit the same mistake again. Like me, I want Abigail to learn the art of counting her gold coins.