The Smallest Gifts

I should be asleep now, but I wanted to write about something very memorable that happened this evening while I was walking around near the night river market. (I'll type in Thai about it later, sorry!)

In Bangkok, sadly, there are lots of people obviously living on the streets. In Chiang Mai, there are also people in the same situation, but the city isn't as urban so seems to afford less harsh conditions for the homeless. Still, the temperatures here are cooler, which is not good for those without shelter.

Basically my rule in Thailand, which I don't like to usually tell people about, is that if someone looks in dire need, I'll usually give then 20 baht, which us about the equivalent of $0.70 but can pay for a meal at a lot of sidewalk vendors. It isn't much by $ standards, but can definitely help someone eat.

Tonight, as I was returning from the market, I passed an older woman with a pillow in her lap sitting among several full, pink cloth bags on the step of a building near a large intersection. Despite the size of the intersection, the sidewalk was very narrow and I smiled at her as I walked past. Even though the lighting was not so good, I immediately felt how peacefully she was sitting there, despite possibly being surrounded by all of her worldly possessions.

I walked a little further until I was under a streetlight and checked my pockets, but only had large bills. Luckily, there was a very convenient convenience store nearby and I stopped in for a soda water and to get change. While walking back to the spot where the lady sat, I passed a shirt seller with a baby fast asleep in its stroller. I made a comment about the baby being cute and the mother laughed.

Back on the other side of the street, I approached the lady sitting on the corner. I said hi to her in Thai and offered her a 50 baht bill. Upon seeing it, she slowly pulled a small, dark drawstring bag out of her pocket. She motioned for me to wait while she took a wrapped-up white cloth out of the bag. She placed it on the pillow and started gently unwrapping it. I watched with extreme focus and curiosity as she fully unwrapped it to reveal a smaller folded cloth. Again, gently unwrapping it to produce a number of very fine, intricately knotted orange threaded bracelets. She took two and held them out as she smiled at me.

"Are these bracelets?" I asked in Thai. "Yes," she said, happily handing them to me as she accepted the money that I offered her. I thanked her and wished her good luck. I knew she could tell how grateful I was to accept the two small gifts she had given me.

I usually make it a point to give without expecting, because any other motivation detracts from the true meaning of generosity. Today, however, this unexpected return gift was also given from the heart of a stranger. As I walked home, I held the tiny bracelets and thought how lucky was to have received them. More importantly, it was a clear lesson of the nature of the soul: Give to live. Live to give.