The Wisdom of Life

leaves had begun to wither, and after a few days the whole tree dried up. A similar story had featured in the Readers’ Digest where a reverend Father had attempted a similar planting exercise. He was very happy and was thinking to himself: I have travelled a long journey in a single day. Planting a sapling or a seed would have been a lengthy business and now I have found a quick way of having a lush green tree. Naturally, he was disappointed. One of his friends visited him and found him in a very sad mood. On being asked the reason, he said: ‘I am in a hurry, but God isn’t.’ This story informs us about the law of nature, which is based on gradual development and not on sudden leaps. One who follows this law of nature will be successful, while the one who fails to follow it, will never succeed. If we analyze what happened, we would realize that whatever happened was what was going to happen; there was nothing else that could have happened. This law of nature does not exclusively apply to trees: it is a universal law. In every field, we need to realize that nature shall follow its own course and consequently it would take its own time to get the desired result. Only then can we observe patience and calm; otherwise one cannot attain any worthwhile goal by deviating from laws of nature and realistic thinking. What can I do to bring value to this world? There is a very illustrative lesson from the life of George Bernard Shaw, the Irish playwright and critic. In earlier times, Ireland was not a place for quality education. Once an Irish person expressed his despair to Shaw about the community lagging behind in education. Upon enquiring, Shaw learnt that the person was also uneducated. Shaw told him to first go and secure education for himself so that at