When I closed my eyes to write a few words, I saw an old man. That old man taught me the biggest lesson of life. I would open my laptop every day, close my eyes and have a conversation with that old man. Today, in this article, I am trying to summarise that same conversation.
When I was walking along the road, I saw a big tree in the middle of an abandoned place. I was surprised to see it. I was looking for some shade, and I thought the Almighty had made it just for me.
I went and sat under that tree and took out my water bag, but there was only one drop of water left in it. I was a little worried. Just then, I saw a hand right in front of my eyes. When I looked, an old man was offering me water.
When you are hungry and thirsty, what formality do you remember? I immediately picked up the bottle and drank all the water.
I felt such relief and peace, something I had never felt before.
I wanted to thank that old man, but as soon as I opened my eyes after drinking the water, he had already left from there. The water bottle in my hand belonged to that old man.
I thought maybe uncle was in a hurry and had left.
No problem, I will come to the same place tomorrow, thank uncle, and return his bottle.
I came the next day and stood in front of the same tree. This time, I could only see the wet ground under the tree. I became sure that uncle had come even today, but I must have been late.
I thought, today I am not leaving this place at all.
The next day, around the same time, I heard the sound of someone coming. I thought I would go a little far and see. I went a little away, and meanwhile the old man arrived and started watering the tree.
He started watering that big, fully grown tree.
I was a little surprised. In this much heat, in such an abandoned place, how would someone come all the way just to water a tree?
I went a little closer and spoke to the old man.
“How are you?”
The old man did not give any particular reaction until his bucket became empty.
I asked him again, “How are you, uncle?”
Uncle said, “Just keep watering the plant.”
I was surprised again. What kind of answer was this, and what did it mean?
By the time I went to ask him, uncle had already left.
A strange restlessness woke up inside my mind. I thought, I am going to get this answer.
I noted the time and went there at exactly the same time the next day. Before uncle could start watering the tree, I held his hand.
Uncle got angry and pushed me.
I felt very bad. I was just about to leave from there when uncle held my hand and said,
“Today, you will water this tree.”
I thought, what is this, brother?
But uncle had given me water when I needed it, so I thought, okay, today I will return the favour.
With a swollen face, I poured the water onto the tree and also returned the bottle to him. I said thank you and started leaving.
Uncle called out,
“Why did you feel bad?”
I turned around and saw uncle standing there with a big smile.
That smile melted my heart, and I said,
“Of course I will get angry if someone pushes me like that.”
Uncle said,
“This is exactly the problem with us human beings. In today’s fast-moving world, we have forgotten a word like patience. My job was to water this thirsty tree. You created an obstacle in that, I got angry, and my patience also broke.”
But anyway, I am also a human being.
I asked him out of curiosity, “But uncle, you said, ‘Keep watering the plant.’ I don’t understand what that means.”
Uncle took me into his flashback.
Uncle said, “When I was young, maybe eight or ten years old, all the children from our school were given the task of planting saplings at this place on Environment Day.
We all happily planted our saplings.
I loved my plant very much. I used to come every day to water it, and all my friends used to come to water their own plants.
Then we would play together, have fun and enjoy ourselves a lot.
There was not even a thing called tension in our lives.
Our plants were also growing and blooming.
But as time kept passing, the number of children became less. More than half of them went outside for their studies, and there were only a few of us who kept coming to water the plants.
But because at that time we had to walk here, we could only bring one bucket of water.
And we human beings are selfish by birth.
We think about ourselves first.
So we only watered our own plants.
All the other plants dried up.
Then my college ended, I started working, my job started, and I became so busy that I also forgot about my plant.
I progressed a lot in life, but along with progress, a little greed, a little burden, everything increased.
In the beginning, it felt good.
But as life moved forward, a strange restlessness started.
Money came into the house.
A car came.
Everything came.
But that peace, you know, that was gone.
I thought maybe it was because of the workload.
So I tried smoking.
I also tried alcohol.
But nothing worked.
The same temporary relief, and then the restlessness started again.
When I looked in the mirror, I could only see a face, not a person.
A person who was like a dead man, only running behind money and success.
Someone who had forgotten his inner soul.
That soul was struggling.
It was dying.
Then my father died.
When I came home because of that incident, on the way back from the cemetery, I saw this place.
I saw this plant.
It was drying up.
All the other plants had dried up, only a little life was left in this one.
I went home.
That bucket was still lying in the courtyard.
I was crying.
I picked up that bucket and filled it with water.
Leaving the car keys behind, I walked here again.
I watered this plant.
And it felt as if the plant had given me a blessing.
I felt so much peace.
I made a decision.
I wanted to do the kind of work where, even if I earned less money, my soul would get peace.
I actually loved my work, but it used to take 12–14 hours out of my 24 hours, and the remaining time went into eating, drinking and sleeping.
So I thought, now I will do freelancing from my village itself and come every day to water this plant.
So for the last 60 years, I have made this my routine.
Come in the morning, water this plant, talk to it, then work, and in the evening come back and have a little conversation with it again.
After retirement, I would stay here most of the time.
But during all this time, this plant had become a tree.
There were no other trees around.
Only this one tree.”
When we came out from his flashback, There were tears in uncle’s eyes.
I hugged him.
I wondered, how would a tree talk?
But it was as if the tree had listened to me.
The tree said,
“Even now you don’t understand what it means to keep watering the plant?”
“I am only symbolic.
The real plant is your own life.
Just as this uncle had left the peace of his life and got caught in the rat race, all of you are caught in this rat race too.
And in this race, you have lost your peace.
So many children planted saplings, but everyone got tangled in the rat race.
Meanwhile, one uncle realised it, and today I have become a tree.
In exactly the same way, your soul, your life, is a plant.
Take out a little time and water it.
Meaning, spend time with it.
Talk to it.
Then you too will not have to wander around searching for this peace.
No addiction will give you peace.
Only your plant will give you peace.
So keep watering the plant.”
Uncle blessed me and left from there.
I opened my eyes, and it was as if I had received a clear message for my life.
I had to write about watering my plant.
Through my keyboard, I am watering this plant.
Now, in life, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks.
I just have to turn this plant into a tree.
You too, keep watering your plant.
Don’t let it dry up.