It does not matter...--Lesson from a snail

"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop" --Confucius

THE SNAIL

While I was tending to my plants this morning, I noticed a snail and I just thought of observing it. It chewed through the leaves of my pechay...slowly...then it walked away...slowly...

I thought, everything must be really slow in the world of this snail. It may have a lot of time to spare so it does its thing really slow. However, with its slow motion, it can still pester me as a plant owner (we are called plantitas in my country). Every morning for a week now, I notice a pechay lost in my tiny garden. Technically, the pechay garden is my sister's as her teacher required them to do some gardening at home. So for weeks now, she has been tending to her plants until this week when I had to do the job because she had to do other things.

This was when I noticed the decrease in number of the lovely growing pechay. Unfortunately, five or more would be gone in the morning. Then this morning, I found the culprit. It was a snail. I saw one today but there could be more in reality. In a week, my sister should be sending the final stage of her gardening activity which is supposed to be harvest time. I worry that she would not be able to show anything if the snails would not stop on having the pechay for their dinner in the next days.

ORIENTAL PHILOSOPHERS

Three notable oriental philosophers are Lao Tzu, Confucius and Buddha. In fact, from their wisdom emerged spiritual, religious and even political disciplines that millions of people still adhere to at present.

There is a story about these three philosophers tasting vinegar one day. Confucius found it sour like he found the world full of degenerate people. Buddha found it bitter much like how he found the world brimming with suffering. However, Lao Tzu found the vinegar sweet like how he sees the world with an underlying harmony despite the discord.

Although they see the world differently, taking things at a slow pace is what is common among them. They believe that something cannot be achieved out of haste. Lao Tzu believes that, "Nature does not hurry yet everything is accomplished" like the growing of a tree or the maturity of a baby.

Confucius on the other hand taught about bending gracefully like that of the grass with the wind. He thinks that bending is not a sign on weakness but in fact a gesture of humility. If the grass won't bend with the wind, it will definitely break.

Buddha taught his followers that we have to learn to manage our earthly desires as they are the causes of sufferings. He said that the only way to get rid of suffering is to get rid of desires. These desires would include our haste to achieve what we want even at the expense of others.

LESSON FROM THE SNAIL

As I looked at the snail doing its thing to my plants, I realized that the three philosophers were right. The snail did not make haste but it ate my pechay and I guess he enjoyed them.

There are many times in life when we try to become the master of time. Man somehow learned and still learning to do things the shortest way possible. This is very evident in many things people do nowadays from the instant foods we eat to the short cuts we take to beat the traffic and time itself.

Because of this desire that is burning in man to reach his goals instantly, he tends to forget to appreciate the things that come in between. We made communication at the tips of our fingers but we are not even sure if we indeed are communicating with each other. Are we? hmmm...

Also, as we try to compete with time, we also tend to compete with each other. As a result, we think that there a only one timeline for everyone. In reality, we have different timelines and there is no need to compete. One may have his first car and build his own house at the age of 20 while another may have them at 50 while still others may not have them at all in his lifetime. So what? Would there be a difference? That precious car obtained at 20 would be prehistoric after a few years as trends and upgrades also change as fast.

MY TAKE AWAY

From the snail, I have learned that there is nothing wrong when I take things slowly. Slowly but surely as they say. I don't mean to be lazy and unproductive but to constantly and gradually move forward. In God's own perfect time, I would be able smile and say, "Like that snail, I got my dinner and I even had it with much gusto".