To Think About….
Old Man and the Mango Tree
In a far away village, there lived an old man. He had very few years left in him. He must have been 80 years old or even more. No one knew his age. He was just an old man in the village
Everyday he would wake up and leave his house . go for a tiny walk outside the village and come back.
Binny and his family had just moved into the house next to the old man’s house. Binny was an observant young boy and he noticed that the old man goes out everyday at the same time
Binny was also a very curious boy. He wanted to know what the old man was up to. One day he followed the old man without being seen. After walking a short distance he noticed that the old man stopped near a small mango plant. He fetched a small bucket and filled it with water from the nearby pond and watered it.
Binny was amazed at this. He forgot all about not being seen and went straight to the old man and asked him, “ Sir, you are so old and you are watering such a tiny tree, you will probably never be able to eat its fruit.”
The old man let out a laugh and explained that he knew that he would never be able to enjoy the fruits of his labor, but he was watering the plant for the future generations' benefit. Also, I love the walk and the purpose this plant gives me
Moral of the Story:
We often look for results and many of our actions are directed toward getting results. This is a beautiful story to remind us all that sometimes the action itself is the reward and we need not always focus on the results
"Truth is proper and beautiful in all times and in all places.”
- Frederick Douglass
