What’s in the box? 📦 | Stories for Good Life Series

There was this man and he had come from the village and he was not very rich; he was quite poor actually. 

He was wearing tattered clothes and shoes and somehow he had lost his home and his hair was just all over the place; he barely had any money and he was quite worn out.

He went to the city to seek a job to try to bring his life back to normal again. And in his tattered shoes and clothes, he went to approach someone and lo and behold he got a really good job!

And he worked really really hard in his job. So in the beginning he was just a sweeper like a cleaner who was just helping to clean everything and then the boss said, “Well, do you know how to do some accounting?” He said, “Yeah I.. I.. used to be a clerk in the village. I used to help in the village.” So he said, “Okay why not, let's see.”

So he started to do accounting and the boss really liked him and said, “Oh, do you know how to do some writing? You know we need also people to file things to maintain things.” And he said, “Yes I know how to do that.” So the boss gave him work and he was very very good at it. And the boss said, “Well, do you know how to coordinate and delegate work; you know, between people?” And so he said, “Yes I can try.”

And so the boss gave him that work and he succeeded.

So slowly, slowly, he was blooming in this company and other people were kind of jealous of him because you know he just barely got there and he was rising so fast. 

And so the boss said, “I.. I'm going to give you a place to stay; you're doing so well and I don't know where you're staying, I don't know what comforts you have but I'm going to give you two rooms in this office space. There are two rooms in the back; why don't you use that to stay?”

Because really this man had been living in just very very dire circumstances. So he said to the boss, “Thank you, thank you so much.”

So he had two rooms in the back; one was his bedroom. Every morning, before going to work, this man would come out of his bedroom, go to the other room, spend a few moments there and then lock that room and then come to work.

Those other people in the company were so jealous of him. They were always trying to find something wrong; what could be wrong with this man?

And so they saw he had this strange routine where he would come out of his bedroom every morning and go to the other room and stay there for a few minutes and then lock the door.

So they said he must be stealing money; he must be stealing money from the boss and hiding it in the room. That's why he's keeping it under lock and key and every day he must be counting money.

And so they went up to the boss, they said “You know this person who's been rising rising rising in the company who came from the village? We think he's a thief; we think he's stealing your money because every morning this is what he does and they narrated how he would go to that room.”

And the boss said, “I don't think so..”

They said, “No, no, you have to go and find out.” And the boss said, “Okay, I will find out.”

So the next morning, just like always, the man left his bedroom, went to that other room; and the boss knocked in that room.

He said, “Open the door!”

And so this man was startled and the boss said, “Open it right now! What are you doing?”

This man was just startled. He thought what to do and so he opened the door.

And the boss went in to look at that room to see if he had been stealing things if he'd been taking things.

But the room was empty. But there was a box and this box was locked. So the boss said, “What are you hiding there?” He said, “Nothing, nothing, I'm not hiding anything.” The boss said, “What are you hiding there??”

And he said nothing, and in the meantime, all of the other people were looking and peeking in the room; and the boss said, “Open the box!” He said, “No, it's okay, you don't need to see it.”

And the boss said, “No, open it right now!”

And so this man opened the box and when he opened the box the boss looked in and he was stunned; he said, “What is in the box? What's in the box?”

The boss looked at the man and said, “Why is this in your box?”

What was in the box were his old tattered clothes. His old shoes, his old watch, his old bag. He said, “Every morning after I wake up and I get ready for work I come to this box. Then I see where I have come from. I remember how I've come from the village and how my life used to be and I just feel grateful every morning for getting here and having the opportunity to work and serve. And I so deeply wish that I am always kept humble. And to be always reminded where I have come from.”

And at that moment the boss cried. He said, “You are too good. Now you are worthy to be my partner.” The boss looked at all of the other people around and said, “You were wrong about him and inside my heart, I knew it.”

Takeaway: No matter how high we go, just lay low. Play low. Let us always remember where we've come from and always live life with humility, with gratitude, with appreciation and love for the good that we see around, within ourselves, and in our lives.

Discussion questions:

1) What can we keep with us to remind us to always remain humble?

2) Reflect on this quote: “Humility is a strange thing. The minute you think you have got it, you have lost it.”

3) What should our attitude be when our friend or family member is rising and succeeding but we are falling behind? 

Previous Story: The Broccoli Noodle Soup 🥣