Long long ago, a young man found a spring of delicious clean water while he was going through the desert. He brought some back to the oldest man in his village, who had been his teacher before. After a four-day journey he sent the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village happily. The next day, the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat it out, saying it was awful. It went bad because it had stayed in the old leather container  for so many days in such hot weather. The student asked his teacher why he pretended  to like the awful water. The teacher _ , "You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for love and kindness. And nothing could be sweeter than these." I think we understand this lesson best when we receive small gifts of love from very young kids. Whether it's a slice of bread or a piece of colored paper, the natural and right response  is to show our thanks and happiness because we get love from the gift. To show our thanks doesn't always come naturally. Unfortunately, most children and many adults only see the thing itself. They never feel the meaning of the thing. We should tell ourselves and teach our children about showing thanks and happiness to the persons who give the gifts from their hearts because gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart. Where did the young man find the water?
In a spring. In a river. In a lake. In a village.