Fern and bamboo?, it’s a fable about a man who was having a hard time, he was a carpenter and before that everything was going very well, everything started to get worse when a big furniture maker came to your city They had a lot of money, big machines and a lot of employees, and soon it became a real sensation in the place.
The factory was making furniture in record time. I also made them with a lot of quality, to top it off, sell them at lower prices than the carpenter, things started to get worse for him. In just a few months, I knew he was on his way to bankruptcy and that bothered him.
“We must accept a finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. “Martin Luther King.
To make matters worse, he also began to fight with his wife, she was a teacher and his salary was not enough to support the three children they had, the carpenter tried to find a new job, but he could not, his wife reproached him and this also affected the children, who began to have problems with their grades in their studies.
The carpenter in our story was really desperate, he had less and less money. Also less energy and less optimism. His mind began to close. I saw no way out, all he came up with one day was walking through a nearby forest, to try to get his ideas in order, he was about to learn the secrets of fern and bamboo.
He had walked half an hour through the woods, when he met a kind old man who greeted him, had a modest house and when he saw the carpenter invited him to tea, noticed the anxiety in his face and asked what was wrong with him. The carpenter told him of his misfortunes, while the old man listened with care and serenity.
When they finished drinking tea, the eldest invited the carpenter to go to a splendid plot at the back of the house, there were ferns and bamboos, next to dozens of trees, the eldest asked him to observe both floors and told him. I needed to tell a story.
The carpenter was very interested in what the old man had to say, so the story began. He said, “Eight years ago, I took seeds and planted ferns and bamboo at the same time. I wanted both plants to grow in my garden, because they both comfort me. I put all my efforts into taking care of both of them as if they were a treasure?.
“Soon after I realized that fern and bamboo responded differently to my care, the fern began to germinate and within a few months became a majestic plant that honored everything with its presence. Bamboo, on the other hand, remained underground, showing no signs of life.
The old man continued his account, as the carpenter listened with great interest: “A whole year passed and the fern continued to grow, but not bamboo. However, I didn’t give up. I kept worrying more carefully. However, one more year, has passed and my work has not paid off. Did the bamboo refuse to show up?.
The old man went on to say, “I didn’t give up after the second year, neither the third nor the fourth. After five years, I finally saw that a shy branch was coming out of the earth. The next day, it was much bigger. Within a few months, it grew non-stop and became a beautiful bamboo of more than 10 meters. Do you know why it took so long to reveal himself?
The carpenter thought for a moment, but he knew nothing more to say. The old man said: “It took him five years because all this time the plant worked to take root. He knew he had to be very tall, so he couldn’t get the light out until he had a solid foundation that would allow him to climb satisfactorily.
The carpenter got the message. He understood that sometimes things take time, because they take root, the important thing is to persevere and not lose faith. Before saying goodbye, the old man sent a message to the carpenter to stay with him forever. He said, “Happiness makes you sweet. ” Attempts keep you strong. Pain keeps you human. Falls keep you humble. Does success keep you brilliant?