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I bought my wife a 24K gold bangle when we were in India. Beautiful, yellower-than-a-daisy and bright-as-the-sun kind of thing.She was delighted.One day our whirlwind-of-a-son gets hold of it. He twirls it around in his fingers, holds it up to the light, brings it to his mouth, and before we can stop him...Sinks his teeth right into it.The thing was so soft that it now has tooth-shaped indentations all around.A jeweler would have to melt it down and work it back into shape if we wanted it restored to its former glory.But if that gold bangle had had just a bit more zinc, copper, and nickel added to it, it’d be tough enough that you couldn’t bite into it.And, you could still call it gold.But if you added too many other elements, it wouldn’t be gold anymore.That got me thinking.If you’re too pure, you lack grit. You end up being so soft that life’ll chew right through you.But if you’re too impure, you lose your luster. You end up being such a formless mishmash that there’s no telling you’re you.So the question is—How do you maintain enough purity while also allowing yourself to become worldly, to mix with the dirt of life, to be both hard and bright?

“Dad, I need your help. Come here!” My 11-year-old girl dragged me towards the computer.“Dad, please purchase everything I have in the Amazon shopping cart. Here, take this cash from my savings!”The shopping cart showed ten items for a total of about 130 dollars."Wait!” I replied. “That’s too much money! Why do you need all these things?”"Please, Dad! These items will get here before Christmas. I have a surprise for everyone … no peeking!” she insisted, and I never hesitated.I purchased everything.A couple of days later she got everything.I saw her then wrapping all her gifts.“Can I help you?”“No, Dad. I told you these are special surprises. Absolutely no peeking!”Her excitement was visible. She was proud. She was alive. She was glowing with happiness.The day came. She couldn't contain herself. She was all over her gifts, planning, protecting, arranging. Everything had to be perfect.As soon as dinner was over, she jumped up from her chair and took her gifts. She went around, giving each one of us her piece of love. These were small value items, but it was the meaning of her giving heart that we were really feeling.As she gave to each person, she paused. She watched the expression on our faces. Our smiles were her greatest reward.Her last gift was for my back then 2-year-old boy: A rocking pony ride-on toy.It’s hard to describe the explosion of delight that my little boy had on his face when he got this gift!For several minutes, everyone was totally absorbed, our attention taken up watching him go all around the house making it a rodeo arena. Even though the pony is designed to be a static rocking horse — his excitement was so significant that the horse slid a few inches forward or backward with every thrust he exerted into the little toy.My little girl watched, rewarded with a huge smile on her face.Somehow, witnessing these acts of giving love from my 11-year-old helped me understand the power of giving. Giving from the heart. Giving from the inside out.Later that day, my girl received some gifts, but she didn't need them. She was focused on others, not on herself. It was evident that she was the one feeling true JOY. She was full.

That's me in 2016, on my birthday, not long after I found out my wife was cheating on me with a “friend”. I had passed out in my home and hit my face on a sharp door handle. It ripped through my face and luckily the worst part missed my eye by about 1inch. I was in and out of consciousness until the ambulance came.4 years on, and I'm in love with a wonderful girl, I'm mostly healed (except for a scar) and in 2019 won multiple business awards, and had the best year of my life.Keep your head up and work hard to achieve the important things to you.