(Minghui.org) Our village was relocated to make way for a new development. Getting used to living with new neighbors was a challenge, with misunderstandings causing many conflicts and friction.
A neighbor blocked my drive with some hay and wood, so I had to use a back alley to get out. The residents living closest to the alley had a vegetable garden next to the road, which they were very protective about. I had to drive past their vegetable garden every day. They placed a boulder at the corner of their property to stop people from cutting across their garden.
It was difficult for me to drive my tractor around the boulder, which annoyed me. I knew that I should not argue with others and should consider the matter from their perspective. If I were in their position, I would worry about my property getting damaged, too, so I stopped being annoyed.
However, a few days later, as soon as I drove into my yard the neighbor came rushing over. He accused me of driving over his vegetable garden. I was sure that I hadn't, so I followed him to the end of the road and could clearly see my tire tracks had not touched his garden. He didn't say anything, but I could see that he was unhappy.
When I drove home the following day, other neighbors stopped me and warned me that there were nails in the road. I saw them at the edge of the vegetable garden, but I maintained my xinxing and didn’t get annoyed.
The dirt roads turn into pools of mud when it rains, so I took it upon myself to find some construction materials to use to surface the road. No one offered to help even though they saw what I was doing would also benefit them. I was unmoved and told myself that I must follow Master’s teachings and treat people with kindness, that I should be selfless and think of others.
Every day when I passed my neighbor's vegetable garden, I waved and said hello. I did not hold a grudge. Because of my friendly attitude and because I had surfaced the road, they soon got over their anger at me. My good behavior broke the tension and mistrust between the neighbors, and we eventually became friends.
Selfless Acts Are Contagious
Families shoveled snow off of their rooftops and into their yards after a heavy snowfall during the winter of 2014. But two families that couldn't get along with each other shoveled the snow off their rooftops into a large mound next to the road.
I needed to go out to do some work the following day and drove by the snow mound. An old lady was there complaining about it, so I decided to stop and shovel the snow onto the back of my tractor. I wasn't concerned about missing my work. The old lady’s husband came out to help even though he'd had a stroke and could barely stand. One of the other families also came over to help.
After removing two truckloads of snow, the mound was cleared and so was the misunderstanding between the two families. I was filled with happiness.
I was able to handle the situation with compassion because I have learned Falun Dafa. It was Master Li, the founder of Falun Dafa, who taught me to be kind and think of others first.
Category: Improving Oneself
