SECRETS TO A SUCCESSFUL LIFE — Qualities Required

SECRETS TO A SUCCESSFUL LIFE Qualities Required BUILDING one’s life is not like setting up a child’s play house, which can be put together in a matter of hours. It is a matter of putting down roots and toiling patiently ever upwards. Man is in constant need of guidance, and God’s ways of guiding him are manifold. Everywhere in the world of nature around us He has set His signs for us to read. There is the creeper which, in a mere matter of months, grows, spreads, bears its flowers and its fruits, and then dies. It is a thing of beauty, a source of nourishment, and, as such, is a joy to man. But it does not last forever, and when it dies, it so withers away that it might never have existed. There is no sign of it left. In contrast is the tall fruit-bearing tree, slow of growth, taking even centuries, and never failing to provide man with its shade, its flowers, and its luscious fruits. Man is in constant need of guidance, and God’s ways of guiding him are manifold. These examples are God’s silent messages to us; they are His way of guiding us towards the right course of action in life and steering us away from what will ultimately lead us to failure. When it comes to the building of a whole nation, we should not attempt to spread fast like the creeper in the hope of quick results. Instead, we should emulate the tree, which may take years of anxious waiting to grow to maturity, but which sends down its roots deep into the soil (there is as much of the tree below as above the ground) and which endures the ravages of the seasons and the passage of generations. A nation, therefore, should grow with this same steadfastness and stability, for expansion without these qualities is like building a house without foundations. What applies to the nation applies equally to individual human lives. If you want to live your life meaningfully and develop a structure and constitution that is solid and long lasting, you will have to be like the tree — patient and willing to engage in hard work.