The below story is for anyone who has ever shared their gifts with the world, felt that others have ‘stolen’ their work or who just want to read a great story about giving without receiving. 

This is the story of a young master craftsman who had a special gift. He was known to be a soft & gentle soul and many people sought him out for his teachings and aspired to be as good as him. He taught many classes in his community and inspired others to be great craftsman. One day a woman showed up to his class unannounced. She was a past student of his who he had not seen in over a year. She entered the class posing as a student, but he noticed she was in the back taking notes in her sketch book. Since he was such a kind soul, he decided to let it pass. He just assumed she was going to take her work home and bring it to the next class to show. The next week the lady didn’t come. In fact, she never came back. But another student from a year back showed up unannounced and of course since he was so kind, he let the woman in. He noticed the same behavior as the woman from a few weeks back. It was near the end of class and the fire alarm went off in the building, which then everyone scurried out of the craft room and onto the lawn. By the time it was clear to enter the building, the class was over, which meant everyone left- including the woman in the back taking notes in her sketch book. 

A few weeks passed and the craftsman was eating his lunch at a local CO-OP. He noticed on the community board a flier. The flier was for a 6 week class focusing on the art of craftsmanship. The teachers leading it were the women who showed up to his classes unannounced. He read the flier and he got really shook up. He felt like the women had ‘used’ him and tried stealing his teaching techniques because they sat in his class and took notes. He even noticed on their flier that they gave no credit to him or his work. Although he was a kind and gentle soul- he could not help but get very upset. In all the years he had worked as an artist, he’d never experienced this sort of situation. 

He chose to be the better person and walk away. He of course left the flier on the board and left. 

A few weeks later he saw both of the women. He approached them with a friendly manner and complimented them on their work. They thanked him for the compliment, but never thanked him for what he’d given them. He was shocked. He felt that all they could do is thank him and acknowledge him for how he had inspired them to get to where they are. 

As he walked away he passed 2 strangers that he’d never met. He heard one of them say,

“Even after all this time, the sun never says to the earth ‘you owe me’ Look what happens to a love like that. It lights up the whole world.’ – Hafiz

This really struck the young master craftsman. He really resonated with those words. He thought to himself ‘Ahh ha! I’ll be the sun and light up the earth.’ From that day on he remained a humble gentle soul. He created boundaries where they needed to be created and he continued to create Artists who then took their gifts and shined them onto the world. 

He never saw those 2 women again and he decided that they would receive the lessons that they needed to learn and that he would see them as a ‘blesson’ for what they taught him. 

The End. 

Author: Unknown