A story, from Prakash Iyer’s book, I couldn’t resist sharing
The Chinese bamboo trees have been known as one of the tallest growing grass,(it belongs to family of grass plants, Poaceae)some of them attaining the height of 80 to 130 feet. Like any other plant it also needs water, minerals and sunlight to grow. To grow to its full height it takes five years and three months. But what makes it special is, in first five years of plantation, we see absolutely nothing above the ground and if something just a small seedling ? struggling to branching out and become visible. And in next ninety days it attains the towering height of eighty feet. No visible growth in first five years but growing and obtaining height of eighty feet in next three months,seems no less than a miracle. But is that really true that no growth is taking place because we see nothing above the ground? Growth actually takes place below the soil for first five years. And with proper care and nurture,It forms the fibrous and firm root that gets strengthened over the time to later support the height of the tree. Sure enough, with strong foundation tree stands tall and firm even in adverse weather conditions for years.
The growing of chinese bamboo tree has a inherent lesson for all of us. In this society where instant gratification has become norm,It teaches us to be patient and persevering. In wanting to see result early we tend to forget that true success has no shortcuts and there is no substitute for hard work. There are enough evidences to prove that success doesn’t come overnight, behind that lies years of hard work and toil, patience and perseverance.