The Option to Natural Gifts

CEBU, Philippines - Some of us aren't blessed with any of the talents the lucky ones possess. For which lack it's natural to feel hopelessly inferior and dejected. But we really need not wallow in despair.

Right in the middle of a desert in Egypt there stands an old almond tree. This tree is a true wonder not only because it grows miles and miles away from the nearest water - or any other living thing for that matter - but also because of how it got there in the first place. It's hard to imagine an almond tree standing in the most barren, harshest desert in the world, and even harder to believe that it's able to survive in the desert's hopeless condition all through the years.

Hundreds of years ago, an old monk brought one of his less intelligent pupils to the desert. He took the pupil away from the other pupils to avoid any possible distraction or humiliation. At the time, the monk was trying to teach this pupil the virtues of self-discipline and perseverance. He wanted to illustrate to the young man how such virtues could equal, or even surpass, any great natural talent or skill.

The monk tried to explain his point in the best way he could, but the pupil had difficulty understanding what the teacher was teaching him. Both of them exhausted, the monk called for a break and asked the pupil to pray with him for enlightenment. When they were done praying, the monk took his stick, which was an almond branch, and stuck it on the desert sand. Then he told his pupil, "Son, water this until it bears fruit and you will know what I mean."

The pupil couldn't believe the teacher's order, but he vowed to obey just the same. The spot was miles and miles away from the nearest well. And the other pupils were sure to laugh seeing him watering a dry stick in the desert.

One night, the poor pupil prayed for enlightenment. Later that night, when it got cool, he secretly walked to the well, filled his water pouch, and walked all the way to the desert and watered the stick. He did this every single night for several years, until one night when the moon was bright he noticed tiny sprouts beginning to grow on the almond stick. This encouraged him all the more to go on with his nightly routine.

After yet another long time, the almond tree was all grown and beginning to bear fruit. The pupil, who was now grown up, took some almond kernels and showed it to the other students. Only then, did the other students know what he was doing in secret all along. Only then did the young man fully understand the teaching of the old monk - that self-discipline and perseverance could equal, or even surpass, the power of any great natural talent or skill!

This story is not fable, it's real. The fruit of the pupil's self-discipline and perseverance stands to this day in the Wadi Natrun of the Thevayid Desert, in Egypt. A friend of mine went there recently on a tour, and she's the one who related this amazing story to me.

The tree is still so strong, my friend observed. It has probably developed a taproot that reaches deep into the water bed beneath the desert surface, sustaining it all through the years. It has been able to survive the severe desert conditions because it has connected itself to a most reliable life source underneath.

At certain times in life, we just get caught in a desert of some sort. At one time or another, we are faced with sickness, loneliness, treachery, and worries, anything to make us feel trapped and hopeless. In such times of desolation, it can help to think of that almond tree in the desert.

A new hope can flourish in our desert, just like the almond tree, and we can attain relief and deliverance that had always seemed impossible.

Sustaining ourselves in the midst of emotional, financial, spiritual, and other deserts require self-discipline. It takes perseverance, too, to keep us going even when our struggles don't seem to make sense anymore. These virtues will give us the strength of character to resist temptations, negative thoughts, lethargy and defeat.

The mind that is constantly watered with thoughts of love, good health, joy, success, peace and harmony will eventually bring forth these qualities into one's life experience. This is the way to tap into the vast reservoir of goodness that is the anchor of the whole universe.

I know this is difficult to explain, just as it was difficult for the old monk to teach it to his young pupil. But it's true; it works. I myself attest to that.

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