There’s a Buddhist story I quite like. I’d heard it first as a much younger girl, though didn’t realize its value until much later on.

The story is about a young man born to wealthy parents. He had everything he could ever want, hope or wish for – a beautiful home, the finest of clothes, and delicacies within every morsel.

And yet, he was always unhappy.

His parents worked harder to provide for their child. Day by day they suffered the toils of their son’s unsettled heart. Until one day, unable to give any more – they died.

But, they’d left for their child one final gift – a beautiful gemstone wrapped in a silken cloth. “It’s here when you need it,” the hand-written note said. “Remember, to draw upon when needed.”

Within just a few years, the man had exhausted the last their wealth – and, now penniless was cast to the streets.

Homeless and desperately hungry, he fell to his knees – as the silk-wrapped jewel fell from his pocket.

“Tell me, why are you suffering?” As he looked up, he saw a monk smiling in crimson robe. “When all that you could ever want or need – was always just right here waiting for you?”

The ‘jewel’, of course, is intended to speak to our inner spirit, and everything which has helped to shape our human experience. In any given moment, we can draw upon the attributes forged through these years – love, happiness, resilience, hope – it’s all right there, isn’t it?

And offering us this gentle reminder, “we are never alone if we have lived.”

Everything you ‘need’, my darlings, is right there within – stop being so hesitant to call upon it.