What You Give is What You Get
September 2nd, 2007Over the years I have been living in
The one thing I have noticed about most Thai people, other than the fact that they smile a lot more than most people in other countries do, is they love to give. At the end of my first year working in Thailand it was a couple of days before Christmas in the Western world (Thai people do not celebrate Christmas since most of them are Buddhist and have their holiday season in April) yet I began receiving presents from the Thai staff. I was very shocked by this but extremely appreciative at the same time since they all earn such a tiny wage yet they were giving me some very nice gifts.
I spoke to one of the members of my sports club who is an Aussie expat like me and I told him I felt quite uncomfortable taking all these nice presents when the staff are paid so little. He replied telling me the same thing happens at his company where it is also almost all Thai staff with only one or two expat managers. He also let gave me some welcome advice and told me what ever you do, never say no to a gift even if you think it is inappropriate or perhaps too extravagant. Thai people are seriously offended if you refuse a gift since the giving of the gift gives them an immense amount of personal pleasure and they reap significant face value from giving to others. They don’t care about receiving a gift in return since they give from the heart and the reward is part of the giving.
As I have come to know some Thai people very well I have spoken to them about this and they all tell me the same thing. When you give from the heart because you want to give, it gives you power and as you release this power it always comes back to you in this life or the next. They believe, as I also believe, whenever you give you will always get back, there are no exceptions to this rule. If you give positive energy or you help someone or you give a material gift, you can always expect to receive something of even greater spiritual value at some point in the future. It could be tomorrow or it could be in another life. It doesn’t matter when you will receive it, it only matters that you give from the heart.
I believed in this concept of what you give is what you get long before I left Australia and moved to Thailand but it is so comforting and rewarding to be constantly surrounded by these beautiful smiling people who live with this conception from the day they are born.
Although more and more people from across the globe are starting to become aware of this universal law of getting what you give, so many are still caught up in the illusion they can get something for nothing, hurt other people and get away with it or they can take what is not rightfully theirs. I suppose in time everyone will learn the lessons they need to learn no matter what the cost may be. For those of us moving along the path to enlightenment it is reassuring to know that what you give is always what you will get back. As my Thai friends who can speak English often say, always give the good thing.
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