Mahogany
In front of my old country house, a piece of uncultivated land was rented to others to plant mahogany trees.
After the tree saplings were planted, the planter would come over to water them once every few days. His visits were on an irregular basis, aninterval of three, sometimes five, or even a dozen of days. The amount of water he used for watering was also varied from time to time, somtimes more, sometimes less. Some mahogany saplings would then be found withered. Hence, whenever he came by, he would bring a few young plants to replace the withering ones.
At first, I took him for a lazy man, someone who's too casual to take to heart the time to attend to his seedlings. However, how could someone like that know exactly how many plants were there withering? He said, "It takes a hundred years for trees to establish their firm footing. They need to explore water sources deep down the soil for themselves. My watering is a simulation for raining, as unpredictable as rainfall. If a sapling can't adjust itself to the environment and find moisture for its own growth, naturally, it goes to wither. However, once it found water supply and settled its root deep in earth, no doubt the sapling would grow into a long-lasting tree."
What he said was thought-provoking. He went on to explain, "If I came every day to give them a definite amount of water, the saplings would get used to it and rely on it. Their roots would remain skin-deep in the surface; there is no need for them to strike deep into the earth. If I happen to stop watering, the saplings would wither badly. Even those that survived accidentally would be easily broken in the storms."
I was moved by his remarks. I think the same is true for us human beings. When we encounter uncertainties, we would have to rely on ourselves and act on our own. In that way, we would be like the mahogany trees. Turning the little amount of nutrition we have absorbed into powerful energy to help us grow.
