When a project slows down, or our career hits a plateau, we get frustrated and blame our bad luck. We assume that there was no real opportunity to begin with.
Here is a story of a traveler and the dry well:
A traveler came to a dry well in the middle of a heated summer and cursed the place because there was no shade or water there.
The hermit nearby smiled. “The water has not vanished, it only rests deep below. It is waiting for working hands to draw it up.”
In Sanskrit, there is a Subhashita (a well-known saying):
यथा खनन् खनित्रेण नरो वार्यधिगच्छति ।
तथा गुरुगतां विद्यां शुश्रूषुरधिगच्छति ॥
Yathā khanan khanitreṇa naro vāryadhigacchati |
Tathā gurugatāṁ vidyāṁ śuśrūṣuradhigacchati ||
This means that ‘Just as a person digging patiently into the earth with a shovel eventually reaches life-giving water, so too does a sincere seeker, through persistent diligence and dedicated service, attain the deepest reservoirs of wisdom.’
The story and the Subhashita are easily applicable to us in real life.
Value, depth and mastery are rarely available on the surface and is found under layers of hard work.
Digging deep is not just the price to be paid for mastery, it also gives us the patience and stamina to go further.
More importantly, circumstances yield not because we are entitled, but because we are persistent.
So bring the shovel and start digging - you will find your water.
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