Some of you might have read this before but I have posted it as it’s worth reading again and again 😊
Motivational Story – The Bamboo Tree
A man got frustrated with life. Despite all the hard work and effort, failure was all that he learnt. Feeling defeated with life, he left everything and exiled himself in the woods. There he met a Hermit. The disappointed man shared is failure with the hermit. “Give me one good reason not to quit?”- He pleaded the Hermit
“Look”, the hermit said, pointing towards two plants. “Do you see that fern and bamboo there?
“Yes”, the man nodded.
“When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them water, light and fertilizer. Within a short period of time the fern quickly grew from the earth”, the hermit continued.
“But despite the Bamboo seed being watered and nurtured for years, it did not outwardly grow as much as an inch. In fact, nothing at all happened in the first year. There was no sign of growth. But, I did not give up on the Bamboo seed and continued to water and nurture it. By the fifth year, a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. And within six months, the tree grew a hundred feet tall.”
“So, did the bamboo tree lie dormant for four years only to grow exponentially in the fifth?” the hermit asked. Baffled by the question the man kept quiet. “The answer is quite obvious. The little tree was growing underground, developing a root system strong enough to support its potential for outward growth in the fifth year and beyond. Had the tree not developed a strong foundation, it would not have sustained its life as it grew.”
“Did you know that all the time you had been struggling, you were growing strong roots”, remarked the hermit
The man learned his lesson that day. He learnt the value of persistence and hard work. The fern and the bamboo stood right in front of him as he walked towards his life to continue to work on his dreams
This week finds me traveling yet again to another city. I realize the sights and smells that greet me as I set alight also set the expectations.
Yet one thing has never changed in all my travels My inate ability to wake up at dawn no matter when I sleep. In the hotel room I am suddenly abound by precious time. I also enjoy the practice of having warm water with a just slight dip of a teabag for a second so its more flavored water than tea. I sense many moments of great connectedness in this unadulterated time of sipping tea. I love it best propped in bed with my feet all tucked in the warm sheets The warm concoction ever so gently bringing in the old familiar fuzzy feeling of being at ease, and accommodating my palate and me to the sensations of a new place. Over many such moments of serendipitousness & the familiar deju vus that wash over me, I have been privy to my musings in verses that flow effortlessly. Like I am doing in this now…
Moments matter and your movements in the moments matter a great deal. Hold this moment that is, in rapture and awe It’s precious for it will slip away Never to meet again in posterity. But in creating a ripple effect of positivity through the movements in the moment What is the future can manifest from this now Care to alter your life for the better. Alter your moves…
During the course of a Management Seminar, Mr. T.N.Seshan, former Chief Election Commissioner shared an experience he had while travelling in Uttar Pradesh with his wife.As they were travelling by road, they saw a large mango plantation filled with sparrow nests. Seshan’s wife decided to carry two nests to their home. The police escort called a young boy who was grazing cows and asked him to bring down two nests and offered to pay him Ten Rupees. The boy refused as Seshan raised the offer to Rupees Fifty. The boy told Seshan and his wife, “Sahib, I will not do it for whatever you will give. Inside these nests are baby sparrows. If I give those nests to you, in the evening, when the mother sparrow returns with food for the babies and does not find them there, she will cry. I do not have the heart to see that.”* Seshan and his wife were taken aback and felt small.Seshan later recounted that his position and the IAS label melted away in front of that little boy. He stood in front of the young boy feeling as small as a mustard seed. He added that after returning home, this incident continued to haunt him with guilt for several days. Education, position or social status is never a yardstick for the measure of humanity. Let’s not forget that knowledge is to know and understand the beauty of nature. We don’t achieve anything by gathering a lot of information as long as that information does not get transformed into wisdom. And wisdom is useless as long as we don’t apply it in our daily life.
Crown shyness is a phenomenon observed in fully grown trees of the same or often even different species where they maintain a distance between themselves and do not touch each other at the top forming a canopy with interesting gaps possibly for sunlight to enter or even to keep leaf eating insects from spreading .
There is much to understand and learn from nature
It’s amazing to see the wisdom of nature manifest in so many different ways around us.
Spatial awareness between trees are a striking example of the wisdom of balance in nature
There is always a reason, a wisdom we are yet to know…
After all
It is the very nature of Nature To be the great balancer To know when to rise and fall. To know when to give and take. To maintain the equilibrium.
A dedication and fond wishes to my daughter on her Graduation Day!
Congratulations and many blessings!!!!👏 ❤️ 🙌
Today as I prepare to attend my daughters graduation ceremony in one of the prestigious institutions in France, serendipitous moments washes over me of the many memories of nurturing my child.
I present here, one of my older posts written when my daughter was a growing teenager… but still true in every word.
On Staying Happy In the Now….
As a mother of a growing teenager I have been witnessing a number of amazing experiences that only a mother and child are privy to and I hold each of these moments close to my heart. I watch as my child is evolving into a vivacious yet emotionally intelligent teen, bubbly,full of life yet practical and sensible with a heart and mind of her own.
Although my heart oft yearns for some of these wonderful moments to stay on forever, I know I have got to let it go, as time and tide waits for none. But each time I have this immense respect for this power of the infinite to carry on creating, and wonder where all this harnessing of energies is taking place. And to this divine form, which could possibly be creative feminism or the power of Shakti, the creator I humbly bow and hope that you bestow some of latent creative potential on all the beings around for them to evolve to the best of their beings .
Coming back to the silent amazement that I feel is the way in which a child is moving from a situation of pure bliss of ignorance on to the happy in the here and now state of existence and later on moves on to a state of awareness of the world with all its actions and consequences.
Gradually the child starts searching a meaning to this life and its relation to the world at large.
More than everything else I watch as the curiosity leads to discoveries and at times frustrations to accomplishments.
I, as a parent can try to necessitate an awareness in my child to be holistic in her thinking process. For instance, from a very young age, if reading and writing are made an enjoyable habit, it definitely hones & helps balance thoughts, as one learns to be aware as well as acknowledge the sequence of changes bound to happen…
After all change is inevitable and the natural order of growth . It enables one to have a beginning, middle and an end to a thought or action and thus helps you learn to be present in the moment and also let it go. This makes you less prone to being a victim of situations & circumstances of life.
Happy in the here and now is a wonderful habit to cultivate for all of us; however it is equally necessary to have a focus in life and necessitate actions towards that goal and evolve further. This adds meaning in to life and life begets the ultimate satisfaction of having lived consciously.
Loving every moment of life and learning to be aware and conscious of each moment as it passes by is a fact ,which also can be so easily learned watching your own child grow…
Thank you dear child as you teach me the lessons of life and living fine.
To all my Care giving friends the lightworkers , the mentors and spiritual guiders, the motivators and healers on their special journey stepping in tandem with their calling! Keep going… you are on track!