Friday, November 17, 2006
Hi All
The following is an extract from Anthony Robbins which i felt i must share this with all of you
Giving The Gift of Hope
One Thanksgiving Day many years ago, a young family awoke not with a sense of gratitude many associate with the holiday but with a preoccupation of where its next meal would come from. Too proud to contact a local charity and too frustrated to celebrate the gift of togetherness, the parents lashed out at each other, turning the holiday into a day of devastation. The oldest son could do nothing but watch in despair.
Then, destiny intervened with an unexpected knock at the door. The family was stunned to find a man standing there, grinning broadly and carrying a huge basket brimming with Thanksgiving delights.
In that moment, this young boy’s life was forever changed. He learned with this simple act of kindness that hope is eternal and that people, even strangers, really do care. He was overwhelmed with gratitude and swore that he would someday become successful enough to give something back to others.
On Thanksgiving some years later, the boy, just 18, went with his scant earnings to begin to fulfill that promise. He bought bags and bags of groceries and delivered them to a woman with six kids whose father had abandoned them. The woman was elated, and the children shrieked with delight.
The young man was moved to tears. In that moment, he realized that his horrible day years ago was actually a gift that had brought him the fulfillment he now felt, and he knew with absolute certainty that whatever challenges came about now would be turned into valuable lessons.
The boy, as we know, was Tony Robbins, and the moment marked the birth of the Anthony Robbins Foundation’s International Basket Brigade. Inspired more than three decades ago by one simple act of generosity on the part of one caring person, the International Basket Brigade has blossomed into an astounding collective effort that now feeds more than two million people in 74 countries. Throughout the holiday season each year, Basket Brigade volunteers in all parts of the world deliver food, clothing, and hope to those who need it most.
# posted by junxiong @ 4:30 AM 
