“The wealth was nearer to you than you realized.” Hindu parable
A man from India told a story of a rich man with many jewels and a lot of money in his pockets who is taking a long journey. As he begins his journey a thief begins to follow him, and the thief has set his sight upon all of these goodies . . .
Every time they check into a hostel, the thief checks into the same room. The rich man notices the thief and knows what he is up to. As they spread out their mats and pillows, the rich man tells the thief, “why don’t you go and get washed up for the night, and after you get washed up, then I’ll go in there.” The thief says “alright,” knowing that he will have time alone when the rich man undertakes his nightly ablutions.
The thief goes into the bathroom, and as soon as the thief leaves, the rich man takes all of his precious stones and money and puts them under the pillow of the thief. When the thief comes back, and the rich man goes to get washed up, the thief rummages through the bags of the rich man. He looks under the pillow of the rich man and looks at every piece of garment the rich man has, but he cannot find them!
Night after night, the thief looked everywhere except under his own pillow. The last night as they are about to part, the rich man looks at him and says, “I know what you’ve been trying to do. But you know what your problem is? You didn’t know a very simple truth in life . . . the wealth was nearer to you than you realized.”
And so, the morals that best fit the story might be:
• You’ve been sleeping with a de-regulated natural gas contract under your pillow the whole time!
• If you are rich with many jewels, why spread your mat out at a hostel when you can stay at a Holiday Inn Express?
• Nightly ablutions are best performed nightly
• To be on the safe side, store your cash in your neighbor’s pillowcase
• Store your treasures in heaven where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (see Matthew 6: 20-21)
• There’s a good chance that additional property revenue from utilities reimbursement is nearer than you realize
Partner with your resident utility billing company to ensure that every resident is being billed for their utilities usage!