An oldie but a goodie tale
It is becoming common knowledge that Bamboos are some of the fastest-growing plants in the world, and are of enormous economic and cultural significance in some parts of the world due to their versatility such as being used for building materials, as a food source, and as a raw product.
What most people may not know is that the Chinese bamboo, unlike most other plants, takes a good 5 long years before it sprouts and grows to a length of up to 90 meters in just about six weeks. Fascinating, right? Well let me break it down, just like with most plants, we have to care for it by nurturing with fertilizers, water and sunshine.
In the first four years after planting, nothing happens, the seed doesn’t sprout, the field looks well cared for except for the presence of growth or life from the bamboo. However, in the fifth year something amazing and incredible happens as the Chinese bamboo sprouts and grows to about 90 feet tall in an impressive short 6-weeks time period. Four long years with no sign of life from the bamboo and out of nowhere, existence is formed. In the fifth year, it grows 90 feet tall in 6 weeks. Now, what lessons can we take from the Chinese bamboo?
Patience
He that can have Patience, can have what he will ~Benjamin Franklin
To be patient requires enormous self-control, it means having the ability and the composure to hold back and wait for something to happen without feeling anxious, becoming irritated or panic. Although we are aware of how virtuous it is to be patient, it takes a certain level of maturity, personal growth and a well-balanced lifestyle to be able to truly achieve this. Let me explain;
When one is impatient, they have a strong compulsion for immediate results for whatever it is they are pursuing.
As individuals with a higher vision of our self, the drive for pursuing anything worthwhile means letting go of the “I need to have it now” mentality. Success is a marathon, not a sprint, thus if you are playing the Usain Bolt game, you might be doing it all wrong. It should mean diligently doing your part, pacing yourself, and allowing the puzzle to fall into place. Thus, now the Haile Gebrselassie game. Therefore, we should be willing to accept setbacks, human error, and disappointments along the way.
Faith
Sometimes, when things don’t go according to plan, we lose faith, not only in ourselves, but also in any potential outcome in our lives. When we experience life’s monumental failures, it’s easy to lose hope, and even faith.Faith, at its core, is deeply-rooted in the expectation of good things to come. Faith can’t be explained by reason or logic, or be understood through a single dimension.
While life can be hard at the worst of times, faith is the knowledge deep down inside that things will get better. It’s taking the next step when you can’t see the entire staircase. Simply put, life would fail to have reason if we didn’t have faith.Without faith, how could we move from one moment to the next without completely second-guessing every last thing we did?
Without faith, we couldn’t expect that things would turn out all right for us no matter what the situation might be.Faith is the energy that courses through every single fiber and cell within our beings. Its part of every muscle and every strand of thought hence its importance cannot be underestimated.
Unfortunately, some people don’t believe in things that they cannot see, they say “if I can see it” then I will believe it.
The bamboo plant was growing underground during all those years, developing a root system strong enough to support its potential for outward growth in the fifth year and beyond. The plant had to develop a strong unseen foundation (roots) to be able to sustain and support this rapid growth after it sprouts.
The story of the Chinese bamboo tree applies to people who have a larger vision of what it is they want to accomplish, people who want more from life and who refuse to take the easy way out, the “I want it now” mentality. You and I are the same. It takes faith to work while you wait. It takes belief in yourself to keep going. It takes confidence to trust that you will always get paid for how hard you work – sometimes now, often times later, always eventually.
What we become in the process of pursuing a dream or passion is more important than the accomplishment or destination, it is the character developed during the journey that stays when the journey is complete.
~Awanto Ernest
