A few months ago, I stumbled upon a delightful story at NHK Japan. There is a golden Lion statue at a train station in Tokyo that lets out a thunderous roar every time someone slips money into its mouth.The segment followed a gambler who was about to place a bet on a horse race. Before he did, he walked up to the Lion, donated some coins, and listened to it roar. He went off, placed his bet, and watched the race unfold. Next thing I knew, he had won.
Before he left the site, he walked back over to the statue and donated again.
I found this absolutely charming.
The Thought That Stuck
A few days later, I couldn't shake the image of that Lion. I found myself wondering: If I perform a charitable deed, does the universe take note?
I am not someone who donates expecting anything in return. I give when I have spare cash, and I try not to think too hard about where that money "goes" afterward.
In January 2026, I made a small donation, filed it away in my mind as a nice thing I did, and moved on with my life. I certainly didn't expect anything in return.
The Coincidence
Last week - February 5, 2026, to be exact - I walked out one of my many chicken house and found something I had honestly stopped hoping for. One of my hens had finally hatched an egg naturally.
Let me tell you about this hen. She is a bit of a character. She's petite compared to the others and maybe two or three years old now. And for the last year, she had a terrible habit of pecking her own eggs after laying them.
She has made one attempt at hatching in December 2025, sitting patiently for weeks only to end up with nothing. I had quietly accepted that maybe motherhood just wasn't in the cards for her.
And then, out of nowhere, she did it !!
A Coincidence?
Was it a coincidence that this happened roughly a month after I decided to give without expectation? Maybe. The rational part of me knows that hens eventually figure things out, and that time and maturity probably played a bigger role than my wallet did.
But still.
When I saw that tiny, fragile chick peeking out from under her wing - eight days old now and doing wonderfully - I couldn't help but think of that golden Lion. Of the gambler who gave before he won, and then gave again because he won.
The Hope
As always, I am crossing every finger and toe hoping this little one is a female. We won't know for a while yet. But watching her scurry around, alive and whole against all odds, I'm reminded that sometimes generosity isn't about the transaction. Sometimes it's just about the roar.
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