A kiwi as a birthday gift

A kiwi as a birthday gift

Hey friends and family,

There are times in our lives when we simply do not appreciate the things that we have. Especially when we are children.

It can be as simple as the fact that you are able to eat a fruit today, maybe even multiple fruits.

This brings me to a personal story from my life that I wanted to share with you.

Growing up in Ukraine I was a child that was extremely blessed. The main blessing was the fact that my mom and dad were willing to sacrifice anything to provide certain experiences for me, but also the fact that they were very talented, hard working and honest people, and this helped us to have a little more than most. Unlike most kids, I had Lego, good food, a cassette player which I dearly loved, and many books.

We lived in a tall apartment building by the river, on the second floor.

In that very building I grew up with several friends. One of them was a son of a single poor woman who lived on one of the higher floors.

When I first met this boy he had a big sweater, too big for him. He had to roll the sleeves and tuck in. It was huge. For the course of next 5-6 years he wore this sweater and when he was older, the sweater was now to his forearms and super tight.

One things that I remember well is that he often smiled and never complained.

However, it’s not the thing that stuck with me the most.

One day him and I were in the yard and started talking about birthday’s and birthday gifts.

With a smile on his face he told me that on his last birthday he was given a single kiwi fruit. I remember the shock I felt about this, as I was always given Lego’s, toys, books. I had fruits at home almost every week.

The story became even more powerful in my mind when this same boy came over for my birthday brining a small gift for me. They had no money to get things for themselves, but they got something for me.

Later on when I moved to US all contact was lost, but years later we found each other online. He joined the military at 18. As far as I know he has since died in the war, as there are no new traces of him anywhere online.

This personal experience is one of several that made me realize the importance of gratitude.

Sometimes we just don’t understand how abundant our life is until we are given a contrast. When that contrast is given we should really pay attention.

In our world there are billions of people who are either malnourished or live below world poverty line. Currently there are 100 million kids who are in danger of starvation.

We live in the world together. It’s our planet. This planet is our current physical home.

We are brothers and sisters, so, if we have an opportunity to reflect and turn some of our abundance into help for others, let’s do so.

I hope my story will help you remember something from your own life that will bring more gratitude.

I also hope that it’ll fill your heart with more charity.

Blessings.