PureInsight | January 23, 2006
[PureInsight.org] There are many people who have lofty ambitions and yet do not approach those small things that are around them seriously. Any successful accomplishment results from small things. A very insignificant matter might completely change a person's life. Any act of kindness and selflessness might bring people unexpected joy.
There is a fairy tale. A tiny ant went to a riverside for a drink. It accidentally fell into the river. It used everything it had to swim towards the river bank. After a while, it used up all its strength. It became so weak that it could only swim to stay above water. It was desperate and struggling. At that moment, a big bird flew to the riverside looking for food. It saw what was happening to the ant. It picked up a small stick and dropped the stick besides the ant. The tiny ant managed to climb up the stick. In the end, it managed to climb out of the danger and came back onshore.
The ant stood on the grass along the riverside, shaking away water on its body. It heard footsteps. Then it discovered that a hunter was coming quietly over with a shotgun in his hands. The hunter was going to shoot the big bird. The tiny ant rapidly climbed up under his trousers. At the moment when the hunter was about to pull the trigger, the tiny ant bit him with all its might. The bite diverted the hunter's attention, and the bullet missed the target. The noise from the gunshot shocked the big bird, who hurriedly flew away and escaped.
Although the ant was much weaker than the big bird, it still made its best efforts to help the big bird to escape from life-threatening danger.
Human beings should conduct themselves in the same way as the big bird. Accumulating small deeds of kindness can lead to great virtue. Small accomplishments lead to a great achievement.
The small things that happen in our daily lives reflect who we really are, whether we are kind or unkind, righteous or evil, beautiful or ugly. There is a saying, "A solid dyke could collapse because of a tiny hole."
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2006/1/9/35264.html
