A young man who was studying with a Great Teacher was called to his Master and given an assignment. He was given twenty nuggets of gold which were of the purest quality on the earth and was told that it was his assignment to give away these gold nuggets to those who crossed his path each day.
The young student pondered upon his assignment, so as to determine how to fulfill this task according to his Teacher’s instructions. He thought to himself, I have been given these twenty nuggets to give away to those who cross my path each day. I pass hundreds in my daily journey, how will I know who it is I am to gift with these nuggets. So the first day, he went out to fulfill the daily assignment. He was so eager to complete this task he gave a nugget to the first twenty people whom he encountered on his way.
The student returned to his Teacher and quickly accounted to his Teacher what he had accomplished. The Teacher then asked, “What was the reaction of those to whom you gave the nuggets?” He began to recount the day. ”The first person laughed and thought it was not real and jokingly gave it the next fellow he passed. The second person glanced at it and placed it in his pouch and continued walking. The third was a woman who was walking with a child, she gave it to her child to play with as a stone.”
He continued to unfold his actions and the reactions of those he had given the nuggets to. “The fourth, he continued, stopped and examined it carefully. He looked at it from every angle. He turned it to examine its complete circumference and then threw it on the ground as he walked away.” The student continued to tell of his day, he did not stop until he had given a full account of all twenty nuggets that had been given away. The Teacher asked him, “Do you believe that you have fulfilled my assignment?” The student answered, “Yes Teacher.” The Teacher replied “very well, go rest and we will continue with your assignment tomorrow.”
Bright and early the next day, the Teacher gave the student fifteen gold nuggets and released him to his task. This time, the student thought to himself, “yesterday I finished my assignment early so this time, I will spread it out a little longer and give to every other person I encounter.” At the end of the day, the Teacher asked for a recount of his giving and the tale echoed the previous day’s tale.
The third day the student was given his daily assignment of ten gold nuggets. The student thought to himself, “this assignment seems far too easy. Instead of the task getting more challenging”, he noticed that each day the task got easier and the amount of nuggets grew smaller rather than larger and he was able to finish the task in a shorter and shorter time…curious to say the least. Little did the student know that on the fourth day of his assignment, his Teacher gave the same assignment to another student to whom he also gave twenty gold nuggets. With the same orders that they were to be given to those who crossed his path throughout the day. At the end of the day, both students were asked by the Teacher to give an account of their giving. The 1st student told of his distributing of the gold nuggets and his pouch was empty as it had been at the end of every previous day. The Teacher then turned to the second student as asked how many nuggets had he given away that day and he answered “none Teacher” “and why is that?” asked the Teacher. The student answered, “Teacher, the gold nuggets you have given me are of the PUREST quality on the earth. As I approached each person, I sought to know their value of gold. As I spoke with them, no one had ever seen pure gold and when I showed it to them, none could believe that it was really PURE gold and laughed me to scorn. Teacher, I found none worthy of your Precious Gift, so I have brought them back in the hopes that tomorrow, I will find someone who will be able to receive, honor and benefit from your Gift.” Who do you think truly understood the assignment?
