Mental Health

Dreams are Like Growing a Bamboo Tree

The Chinese Bamboo Tree

Dreams are like growing a bamboo tree

“If you don’t like the fruits, look at the roots.” -Jessica Flint

The bamboo tree is fertilized and watered daily for 5 years with very little to show for it. Then it breaks through the ground, and in 5 weeks it grows to 90 feet. So, the question is, does it grow 90 feet in 5 years or 5 weeks? The answer is five years. If the person stopped watering, nurturing and fertilizing that plant, it would not only die, but it would die in the ground, never breaking through.

We all have that giant bamboo tree in our life that we are watering and fertilizing with nothing showing. You begin to question, will it ever grow? Some people will come by saying “you’re still working on this? Is that all you have to show?” At that point, many of us stop watering and fertilizing because we don’t see instant results.

We stop because of the shame of not seeing its growth; it doesn’t happen quickly enough. We stop because we’re looking for the fruits at the roots. Keep watering your dream and when it does begin to sprout and it does begin to bloom, they will stop laughing. Your inner critic will stop doubting. When you’re working on your dream, you don’t give up on it and you persevere to keep going even when you don’t see the outward growth and the fruits suck. The longer you grow the roots, the sweeter the fruits.

Nurturing Our Dreams

When working to make your fruits strong, the process becomes more important than the fruits. You become the kind of person who can support your goals. Some dreams take months or years to accomplish, so if you are working on your dreams and goals and don’t see immediate results, continue. Keep nurturing, watering, fertilizing and growing.

Do everything it will take to help you grow strong. The results will eventually come if you do the work. Out of adversity comes opportunity. So don’t let circumstances surrounding food or other people uproot you. If you dig up the seed to see if it’s growing, you will stunt the growth. You must be patient as everything falls into place. Keep going and you will be amazed at what you can achieve and who you will become as a result. Inside of every seed is the potential for a great harvest. And inside you is the potential for an incredible life.

Additional Resources

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *