I came across this story while I was cleaning up my cabin. This was on a piece of paper left by one of my colleagues who had resigned and left the cabin nearly a year back. This story got my attention immediately. And made me think and forced me to write. But first here is the story
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One day I decided to Quit…I quit my job, my relationships, my spirituality…I wanted to quit my life.
I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.
“God” I said, “Can you give me one good reason not to Quit?”
His answer surprised me …“Look around”, He said. “ Do you see the fern and the bamboo?”
“Yes” I replied.
“When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds. I took very good care of them.
I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the Bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.” He said.
“In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In year four again, there was nothing from the Bamboo seed. I would not quit.” He said.
“ Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant.. But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle. “
He said to me. “Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots”
“I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you”
“Don’t compare yourself to others.” He said. “The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful”
“Your time will come”, God Said to me. “You will rise high”
“How high should I rise?” I asked.
“How high will the bamboo rise?” He asked in return.
“As high as it can ?” I questioned.
“Yes”. He said “Give me glory by rising as high as you can.”
I came back from the forest having realized that God will never give up on you.
Moral of the Story - Never, Give up.
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One day I decided to Quit…I quit my job, my relationships, my spirituality…I wanted to quit my life.
I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.
“God” I said, “Can you give me one good reason not to Quit?”
His answer surprised me …“Look around”, He said. “ Do you see the fern and the bamboo?”
“Yes” I replied.
“When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds. I took very good care of them.
I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the Bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.” He said.
“In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In year four again, there was nothing from the Bamboo seed. I would not quit.” He said.
“ Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant.. But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle. “
He said to me. “Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots”
“I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you”
“Don’t compare yourself to others.” He said. “The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful”
“Your time will come”, God Said to me. “You will rise high”
“How high should I rise?” I asked.
“How high will the bamboo rise?” He asked in return.
“As high as it can ?” I questioned.
“Yes”. He said “Give me glory by rising as high as you can.”
I came back from the forest having realized that God will never give up on you.
Moral of the Story - Never, Give up.
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This story could mean a million things to million people. For me also this is relevant from many angles. The portion that really caught me was where God says “ Don’t compare yourself with others. The bamboo had a different purpose…..“ the other part of the story that hit me in the face was “I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.”
Often, when I meet my batch mates, peers etc and after the initial euphoria and the nostalgia subsides, I have seen the discussion move on to doing a comparative. The comparison always seems to have very strong materialistic undertones. These comparatives range from being downright idiotic to hilarious. Few examples I have faced till now are -
“ hey, man what is your designation?”
“What is your CTC?”
“Have you bought a House?”
“Have you bought a car?”
“Nice cell phone”
“Oh, you are on V25 .. I prefer only Lonovo”
“ How often do you travel abroad?”
“Oh. I travel only business class or only Kingfisher”
“ I prefer consulting better than being in the industry” (This is the most hollow one – I feel)
And blah blah blah …
This is just a small sample of various other permutations and combinations. Many a times your replies make the other person feel let down by himself and many times he feels he is a superior being. Am not saying that I have not been a culprit. But, I have made a conscious choice to grow over these comparisons. And, this is where this story connected to me. It connected deep.
Guys, when we will realize that one’s purpose of being might be to be a fern. But, that doesn’t mean that if you are a fern and other is not then your purpose of being is more relevant than the other persons. Being a fern is obviously a reason for delight but then being a bamboo is equally delightful.
I might be faster in the blocks as compared to many .. but then I might be slower as compared to many more. But then it is for us to understand that being faster on the blocks is not the sole purpose of being. Its is important to understand that how successful you are in fulfilling the objectives that you had set for yourself in life.
Often, when I meet my batch mates, peers etc and after the initial euphoria and the nostalgia subsides, I have seen the discussion move on to doing a comparative. The comparison always seems to have very strong materialistic undertones. These comparatives range from being downright idiotic to hilarious. Few examples I have faced till now are -
“ hey, man what is your designation?”
“What is your CTC?”
“Have you bought a House?”
“Have you bought a car?”
“Nice cell phone”
“Oh, you are on V25 .. I prefer only Lonovo”
“ How often do you travel abroad?”
“Oh. I travel only business class or only Kingfisher”
“ I prefer consulting better than being in the industry” (This is the most hollow one – I feel)
And blah blah blah …
This is just a small sample of various other permutations and combinations. Many a times your replies make the other person feel let down by himself and many times he feels he is a superior being. Am not saying that I have not been a culprit. But, I have made a conscious choice to grow over these comparisons. And, this is where this story connected to me. It connected deep.
Guys, when we will realize that one’s purpose of being might be to be a fern. But, that doesn’t mean that if you are a fern and other is not then your purpose of being is more relevant than the other persons. Being a fern is obviously a reason for delight but then being a bamboo is equally delightful.
I might be faster in the blocks as compared to many .. but then I might be slower as compared to many more. But then it is for us to understand that being faster on the blocks is not the sole purpose of being. Its is important to understand that how successful you are in fulfilling the objectives that you had set for yourself in life.
Imagine when you are ninety you will not be looking back and saying that man I am satisfied in life cause I was the first guy in my batch to buy a merc. But you will definitely be looking back and saying that man I am satisfied with my life cause I have been able to fulfill all that I ever set for myself. You will be satisfied because you were competing with yourself and not competing with others. (If your only aim in life is to be the first one to buy a merc.. then I take back my words.. may be you will be the satisfied one !!! )
I agree that not everyone thinks similar. Some might have already realized the purpose of their being and some might be in the process of discovering theirs. But realizing one's own purpose of life is not the end. It is the start. Also, my purpose of life and your purpose of life go hand in hand. If you have realized that you are a fern it is equally important that you respect bamboo also otherwise .. well.. spring is followed by fall.
Don’t have much to say beyond this other than repeating the fact that it is really important to figure out your purpose of being and also respecting the purpose of being of others.
Last words: “Show me a person who is moving slower than me or you .. and I will show you a million who are faster than me or you”
