PureInsight | November 15, 2007
[PureInsight.org] A bamboo
shoot shot out of the ground in our hayshed in my hometown, and it
broke open a large crack in the ground. Maybe it was to celebrate its
birth that it stuck out a furry head that shook in the air without
sunshine.
My younger sister gave it a nickname "Han Da (Naive Kid)" because it
came to our hayshed boldly to be born where it was dry, cold and
without sunshine all year long. The more fatal problem is that the only
window through which it could reach the sunshine is at least 1.5 meters
away from the shoot and, in between, there is an abandoned wooden
table. The thick wooden board completely blocked the way out for "Han
Da".
I bet my sister that this bamboo wouldn't live because, without
sunshine, the shoot wouldn't be able to become a bamboo stalk. No
matter how strong and big the shoot was, it would rot away one section
after another if it couldn't grow into a mature bamboo stalk. But my
sister didn't want to believe me, because she was still a small kid.
"Han Da" grew to a little more than one meter tall when its head tip
hit the table, and the leaves at the tip were forced to spread towards
the sides. Because there was no sunshine, "Han Da" was still like when
it was born, very delicate, and the skin on the outside was still light
yellow in color. It would take only a little more than ten days for the
bamboo to rot from top to bottom in this state, and pass the growing
season of bamboo. My sister was a little worried and wanted to move the
table away, but she didn't succeed after several tries.
About ten days later, my sister pulled me to the shed with excitement.
I saw the bamboo. "Han Da" had strongly gotten its head above the
table, where a slice of twilight sunshine through the window was
shining quietly on its body. "Han Da's head was lifted up high. Its
once crushed leaves spread all over, enjoying the warmth and love of
the sunshine, which would leave in minutes.
Between the wall and the table, there was a narrow crack. It was from
there "Han Da" found the place to break through and squeezed out its
living space.
Despite this, Han Da still had a long way to go to get to the sunshine.
It had to pass the half-meter distance from the table to the
windowsill, squeeze through the gaps between the window bars, and then
it could eventually put itself totally under the sunshine. In mid May,
Han Da accurately reached the window. By the end of May, it had passed
the window sill and two window bars bent towards both sides as if they
were under the control of some magic power. In mid-June, a new branch
grew out and, by the end of June, the first new leaves came out.
Finally, like all the other bamboo shoots outside the window, it became
a new attractive bamboo plant, enjoying the rain and happily growing
under the sunshine.
I lost my bet to my sister, but still felt very happy. I felt happy
because I had encountered such a bamboo in person, one that was born
with misfortune and facing hardships, but never gave up. It relied on
its own faith, persistence and endurance to finally reach the brightest
sunshine in its life.
Translated from:
http://xinsheng.net/xs/articles/gb/2007/10/31/41718.htm
