A highly successful grocer had a well-furnished shop. His business was flourishing day by day. Customers patronized him and regularly came to his shop for their daily requirements.
One day, disappointing news arrived: a big departmental store was going to open directly opposite his shop. Filled with despair, the shop owner went to his master and said that his family’s livelihood depended entirely on his business, and he knew no other skill.
The master replied, “If you fear the owner of the departmental store, you will begin to hate him, and that hatred will become your downfall.”
“What should I do then?” asked the grocer.
The master said, “Every morning, walk out of your shop onto the sidewalk and bless your own shop. Then turn toward the departmental store and bless it as well.”
“What? Bless my destroyer?” the grocer exclaimed.
The master smiled and said, “Any blessing you give him will return to you as good. Any evil you wish upon him will ultimately destroy you.”
A year later, the grocer returned to his master to inform him that he had closed down his grocery shop, just as he had once feared.
Questions
1) Why did the grocer close down his shop?
2) What is the implication of this story?
Check your answers only after you have tried to come up with your own.
Answers
1) The grocer closed down his grocery shop because he eventually became the owner of the departmental store.
2) We do not live in isolation. Every element in the universe is interconnected. This is a scientific truth. Our thoughts have the potential to travel across multidimensional planes. The good thoughts we have about a person can reach them unconsciously. Every person can, to some extent, sense the positive or negative feelings of others.
Since the grocer chose not to hate the owner of the departmental store, they became good friends. Because the grocer had more experience in the grocery business, he was able to manage the departmental store more efficiently. Eventually, he became a partner in the business. Later, the original owner sold all his rights in the departmental store to the grocer and left the town for good.