The Story of the Fern and the Bamboo

Hi Rishi,


Could not talk to you as I was rushing to India to be with my dad. Now I am sitting next to my dad and writing this letter. Hope you had a great weekend.


I was in Brussels airport, sitting in a cafe  in a pensive mood while  waiting for my next flight to India. One of the passenger's who like me was also in the cafe waiting for her flight to New York,  was  returning from India. We started talking when her husband joined us. During our conversation, we started talking about serendipity of life.  When they knew the purpose of my return to India, they offered few kind words and along with shared series of stories  with me. Subsequently, her husband emailed me the stories.   Over next few weeks I will share with you all the stories,  for today I will start with," The story of the Fern and the Bamboo-Author Unknown"

“One day I decided to quit…. I quit my job, my relationship, 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 the third year, there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In the fourth year, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. But 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 it 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 left the forest and brought back this story. I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you…….


 Never regret a day in your life.
 Good days give you Happiness.
 Bad days give you Experiences.
Both are essential to life.
 Keep going…

Happiness keeps you Sweet, Trials keep you Strong, Sorrows keep you Human, Failures keep you Humble, Success keeps You Glowing. But Only God keeps You Going!  Have a great day!

 God is so big He can cover the whole world with His Love and so small………
 He can curl up inside your heart!”

Rishi I love you, your grandfather wanted to see you. Hope we can see you this weekend on skype if your mother allows ...

God bless you, I miss you Rishi.

With lots of love, hugs and best wishes,

Daddy

The Most Important Words Ever

My Dear Rishi,

As alway I enjoyed our conversation on the weekend. You said something very sweet and beautiful during our conversation. You said, "Daddy, you always say I love you and I know, remember, I am in  your heart and you are in my heart."....Thank you so much love for your beautiful words. Today,  I wanted to share something which was given to me by an elderly lady in a hospital. She gave me a card in which following was printed...I cherished the value of words and found very useful in my life hope you too find it useful love...

The 6 most important words:

"I admit that I was Wrong".

The 5 most important words:

"You did a great job".

The 4 most important words:

"What do you think?"

 

 

The 3 most important words:

"May I help you?"

 

 

The 2 most important words:

" Thank you"

 

 

The most important word:

"We"

The least important word:

"I"

Rishi, I love you and  here is the message you gave me when I was in Singapore on Dec. 19th, 2011  and another message on December 23rd the day, I was leaving Singapore. As per your message I listen to both the messages every day love....

Dec. 19th, 2011

Dec. 23rd, 2011

I love you and miss you Rishi,

With lots of love, hugs and kisses

Daddy

Failure is not Final

My Dear Rishi,


It was fun talking to you yesterday. As I mentioned it was Honey's birthday yesterday I have had Honey for 10 years :) and I am so glad she is part of my life. Hope, you were here too...Honey is your mom's birthday gift...


Yesterday after  I spoke to you I was thinking about my grandmother (dad's mother) and remembered  an interesting story she told me when I was about 9 years old after our encounter with an elephant. It was during my summer holidays my brother and I along with my parents were visiting my grand parents. We used to have lots of fun at my grand parents. I still remember eating Gooseberry, Guava etc  One day grandmother, my younger brother and I were walking to the temple There was this huge elephant out side the temple tied to a small peg with a rope. I was totally perplexed and asked my grandma how come such a powerful and strong animal cannot run away by breaking the rope.

My grandmother took me to the Mahout -person who trains and manages the elephant. Mahout was very interesting and funny man. He gave each one of us a banana and asked us to feed the elephant. The elephant's name was Seetha, I think. After eating the banana the elephant blessed us by putting the trunk on our heads. Grandmother asked me to repeat the question I had asked her earlier i.e. how come a strong elephant who is tied to a small peg with a rope cannot break free.

Mahout said, “when the elephants are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. But as they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free. The elephant never attempt to break the rope and run away."  I was very happy with the answer.


Later that evening my grandmother said something which has been seared into my memory forever.  She asked me if I remembered what the Mahout told us about the elephant. Like you ,I have a good memory, I was able to recollect and repeat what Mahout had told us. Grandma said there is an important lesson to learn from this experience that I should always remember. She said like the elephant you saw in the temple, many humans go through life hanging on to a belief that we cannot do something, because we failed once when we attempted.  Remember, failure is essential part of learning; like an elephant we should never give up because of our struggles in life. Failure is not final.

Rishi, never ever give up in life. If you fail try once again and again till you succeed. My mom used to always tell me failures are the stepping stone for success. If you fail once, get up and try harder till you succeed and trust me you will succeed.

If you feel very down because you have failed...Please look at this video..hope you are inspired as I am always inspired and I don't give up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxjiEi2Eywk&feature=related


I love you son and miss you.

With lots of love, hugs and best wishes,

Daddy

The Story of a Blind Girl

My Dear Rishi,

I was not able to write to you last week as I was under the weather. I enjoy our conversations  on the weekends, yesterday's conversation was rather brief.

We all go through various trials and tribulations in life. I came across an interesting story and wanted to share with you.


There was a blind girl who hated herself just because she was blind. She hated every one except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. One day she said to her boyfriend if only she could see the world, she would marry him

One day someone donated a pair of eyes. After the surgery and recovery, she was able to see the world including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend was very happy for her and asked her, "now that you can see the world, will you marry me?"

The girl was shocked when she realized her boyfriend was blind and she refused to marry him. Her boyfriend was completely heart broken and with heavy heart he walked away. Later he wrote to her letter with just one line and it said," Just take care of my eyes dear".

This is how human brain changes when the status changed. Only few remember what life was before, and who’s always been there even in the most painful situations.

Life Is A Gift

Today before you think of saying an unkind word–
think of someone who can’t speak.

Before you complain about the taste of your food–
think of someone who has nothing to eat.

Before you complain about your husband or wife–
think of someone who is crying out to God for a companion.

Today before you complain about life–
think of someone who went too early to heaven.

Before you complain about your children–
think of someone who desires children but they’re barren.

Before you argue about your dirty house, someone didn’t clean or sweep–
think of the people who are living in the streets.

Before whining about the distance you drive–
think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.

And when you are tired and complain about your job–
think of the unemployed, the disabled and those who wished they had your job.

But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another–
remember that not one of us are without sin and we all answer to one maker.

And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down–
put a smile on your face and thank God you’re alive and still around.

Rishi, I know first hand how I was there for someone when this person was going through a very tough family situation and when I was in a very similar situation, this person just walked out of my life and gave me a gift of loneliness. Over the years I have realized instead of being bitter and angry with this person, I am grateful to this person because this person in giving me the pain, sorrow and gift of loneliness helped me to develop inner strength. This inner strength has helped me to be true to myself, reach out to others and help them, and most important lesson I learned is importance of forgivness and how to forgive this person.

Rishi, I have also learned that, "The will of god will not take you where grace of god will not protect you. God will give you enough strength and courage to sustain you. All you need is HOPE and FAITH.

HOPE is : Heart Open for Positive Emotions or Experiences or Encounters

FAITH is: Full Assurance In The Heart.

Rishi, Hope and Faith are akin to two wings of a bird. God has given the humanity two wings namely, HOPE and FAITH to face any storms life has to throw at us so that we can rise and fly higher after every storm. Have you ever wondered, after a major storm or hurricane or typhoon, the birds nests (their homes) are destroyed, all you hear after the storm has passed are birds chirping akin to singing songs and building their nests? Think about it love :)

 I love you Rishi, miss you sweet heart...

With Lots of love, hugs and kisses,

Daddy