I want to share the story of the Chinese Bamboo. There was once a Chinese farmer who had a big plot of land. He wanted to plant seeds of the Chinese Bamboo tree because he knew that once it grew, it will provide a better future for not just his family but generations to come. So, he carefully marked plots and planted the seeds. Day after day he would water the plots. A week passed, nothing. A month passed, nothing. A year passed, still nothing came out of the soil.
All this while, he was watering the bamboo seeds every single day without fail. After a year, he needed to feed his family, so started planting other seeds. Within a week, seedlings grew. He got a good harvest of crops within a month and he could feed his family. Still his heart was on growing the bamboo knowing that is what he wanted for his future. Another year passed – nothing. Two years, three years and even after four years – nothing.
All the villagers made fun of him. The farmer started doubting himself. He feared the seeds have died or maybe he didn’t water them correctly. Or perhaps, he didn’t use the correct fertiliser. Yet, after four years, it was more a habit and he kept watering the carefully marked spot of bamboo seeds along with the other plants.
Another year passed – five years gone! Still, no sign of seedlings. One day, he was so frustrated and went to the barren land and cried his heart out. He was really frustrated!
He even thought ‘what’s the point of watering?’ Only because of the habit of the past five years, he kept going. A few weeks later when he went in the morning to water the plants, he screamed with joy. All the villagers came down to see what the commotion was about. And to their surprise, there were small shoots growing from the ground. After five years of nothing, finally here was proof.
With joy, the farmer kept watering the new shoots. The bamboo kept growing – 1 foot, 2 feet, 10 feet, 20 feet, 50 feet, 90 feet…. Within 6 weeks, the bamboo grew to 90 feet. He was ecstatic. He knew that even if he cut this bamboo, the regrowth from the seeds will provide a good future for generations to come.
The other farmers in the town got excited and they too started planting bamboo seeds knowing that in five years’ time, their future was guaranteed to be bright too.
I shared this story because it seems to be apt to my life in the month of December and January. Especially after my surgery, there have been days where I have been frustrated to no end. My body is still healing and needs more time to get back to the new normal. I can’t life weight (sometimes, even shopping back to my car), I can’t do yoga (a lot of the poses), it’s been over 6 weeks since I used my voice to sing and some parts are still sore from the surgery.
I’ve had to remind myself to be patient, many times a day. Just like the farmer, I keep doing the best I can at this stage. I know that one day in the near future, things will be different.
But for now, I saw the silver lining and indulged in a lot of personal time – reading books, watching TV (a lot, if I have to be honest) and doing some art work. Best of all, I spent a lot of time with my children before they go back to school next week. I have also started my yoga classes and focusing on doing whatever little I can.
I hope you’ve had a fabulous start to the year and here is wishing you all the best for the rest of the year. Until next time, ciao.
