If you have something to offer, you will be respected!

When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die.
Eleanor Roosevelt

The other day I was in a swimming pool enjoying a nice breezy evening. I noticed a Cocoa Cola empty can being moved by the wind. The can was moving in all the directions in which the wind was blowing. Some children came and kicked the can here and there and playing. Ultimately it landed in the trash container and no one bothered about it!

I was reflecting on this.

This can, when it was Cocoa Cola, it was respected, it was kept in a refrigerator, people paid money to have it, felt very proud to have it with them and it was even a status symbol! When the same can became empty, it has no takers and people kicked it around and ultimately landed in the trash!

We need to ask ourselves what we have to offer to others. As long as we have something of value to offer, we will be respected. The day we have nothing to offer to others, we will be kicked around and will be trashed!

Over this weekend, ask yourself: what do I have to offer to others? Can I make my contribution even more valuable? Or, do I want to be that empty Cocoa Cola can?
N C Sridharan
www.thetimefoundation.com
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