Do Not Bargain with a Street Vendor
“When you buy something from a street vendor, do not haggle. Pay the asking price. In doing so, you are giving a gift of hope.”
“Love that exists only in the mind and on the lips carries no fragrance.”
“It took me seventy years for love to travel from my head to my heart.”
These are among the reflections of Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan found in Dawn Light Notes.
At the entrance to an alley in Yeongdeungpo Market, an elderly woman had laid out a small display of vegetables for sale. A middle-aged lady, refined in appearance, was arguing with her, trying to shave off just a few hundred won from the price. The old woman let out several deep sighs before quietly gathering the vegetables into a black plastic bag and handing them over.
A little later, a young man approached.
“It must be hard working out here in this cold,” he said warmly as he paid the full price without hesitation.
The old woman’s face brightened instantly.
“Business has been slow today. Thank you, young man,” she replied with a radiant smile.
The few thousand won he paid for those vegetables was more than money. It was love.
Love is not found only in grand gestures.
Its true fragrance is found in the heart that seeks to understand the struggles of another.
We often think we understand what love is.
We speak of helping those in need. We talk about kindness, generosity, and sharing.
Yet in everyday life, we are often unwilling to accept even the smallest loss. We calculate our own benefit first and measure everything by what we gain.
Love that remains only in the mind is cold.
But love that has descended into the heart gives life and offers hope.
— From Dawn Light Notes by Ki Jun Kwon
Today's Reflection
★ Even Cardinal Kim said it took him seventy years to know love with his heart.
We pause to wonder whether, before our own lives come to an end, we will have the grace to experience even once that kind of love—love understood not merely by the mind, but by the heart. ★
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