A Buddhist Monk walked through a small village on a beautiful warm sunny day. This monk enjoyed watching the people of the village work, the children play, and taking in the nature around him. The monk lived a very simple life and dedicated his time creating a better earth and a better life for those who reside in it. The monk walked past an open field where he saw a piece of garbage in the center of it, the monk walked towards the garbage to pick it up.
A little boy stopped the monk as he was picking up the piece of trash and asked, “Why are you picking up trash?” The monk looked at the boy and said, “Well this trash belongs in the garbage, not out here trying to drown own out the beauty of nature.” The little boy said, “Its just one piece of trash, one piece will not make a difference.” The monk laughed and said to the boy, “Can’t you see that trash can attract more trash? If I left the garbage on the ground perhaps someone else would add their garbage to the first piece. With time more and more people would leave their trash and this beautiful natural field would be polluted with garbage. It is because I removed this one piece that this field will stay beautiful, at least for the moment.”
The boy looked at the man and asked, “What do you want to do with your life?” The monk laughed and said, “I want to change the world.” The little boy thought that a goal like that would be impossible. The monk said, “In order to be successful at anything, you have to continuously work at it until you reach what you desire.”
The monk picked up a stone and asked the boy, “Do you think it’s possible for water to put a hole in this rock?” The little boy shook his head no. “What if I hit it with one drop of water?” The boy again shook his head no. The monk asked, “How about one really good hit with a full bucket of water?” Again the boy shook his head no. The monk smiled and said, “I will set the stone here underneath this leaky gutter under this house. Every couple of seconds a drop of water will hit the stone at the same spot and at the same speed. With time the stone will wear away and the small drops of water will eventually penetrate the rock. This impossible goal can be reached only through consistent and small efforts.” The monk left the rock under the leaky gutter and went on his way.
A few years had passed and that little boy returned to the spot where the monk left the rock, the young boy was surprised to find the stone with a hole in the center of it just like the monk said would happen.
Anyone can give a good effort once but that is not always what is required for success. The achievement of anything great requires consistent action towards the goal that you wish to achieve. Do not stop until you have reached what you desire.
As you prepare for a New Year and decade, I hope you remember the drops of water and how consistent effort, no matter how small, can achieve the impossible.
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