Author Unknown


A man came to his counselor in great distress. He was a shopkeeper and they had opened a supermarket right across the street from him. It would eventually drive him out of business. His family had owned the shop for over a hundred years, and to lose it would be his undoing, for there was nothing else he was skilled at. What should he do?

The counselor said, "If you fear the owner of the supermarket, you will hate him. And hatred will be your undoing. Here is what you are to do: every morning walk out of your shop onto the footpath and say a prayer of blessing over your shop, wishing it prosperity. Then turn to the supermarket and bless it too."

"What! Bless my competitor and destroyer?"

"Any blessing you give him will rebound to your good. Any evil you wish him will destroy you."

After six months the man returned to his counselor to report that he had had to close down his shop, as he had feared. But now he was in charge of the supermarket, and his affairs were in much better shape than ever before..