However, with the last chord of the music, marvelous sound fades into silence. Great music must be performed again and again to restore the gift.
Beautiful sound is temporal, gone in a moment.
It is the kind of gift that is worth every ache created by spending your working vacation cleaning up a trash-filled stream, or standing beside a disadvantaged child to teach him the joys of photography. You can give an orphan child a second chance, and even though adoption is a lifetime commitment, no light decision on your part, your dedicated time can change the life of an infant or unwanted child immeasurably forever. Simple acts of kindness to someone who is sick or alone, showing your neighbors how to plant a backyard garden, or sharing your skill at wood working with a teenager-these are well worth your time because these gifts are priceless. Americans, in 1999, spent 120 Billion dollars online and in department stores on presents for family and friends. They were unwanted or useless presents, gourmet foods immediately consumed, of no significant social value, returned or exchanged, broken after one use, never assembled, unused or stored away for a future yard sale.