Live like a Banyan Tree

 I was walking with my friends the other day, when outside a timber merchant's shop, I came across this sliced trunk of a Huge Banyan tree. It looked like a circular frame, in which someone had somehow forcefully fitted a cluster of small rings.

I have always considered banyan trees as a synonym for Huge, Strong, and Unshakable beings. The sight of this slice of a banyan tree trunk suddenly reminded me how It eventually grew to be this synonym that I know Today.

It started as nothing more than a small seed, just like a delicate Daisy did, equally tender and prone to the harshities of nature like a Willow. However, it was Its choice of survival that made all the difference.

It worked slowly and calmly with each passing month, with each passing year, quietly shooting its tentacles toward the ground, penetrating the earth, and joining its roots, building a strong foundation for itself. And before even anybody realized its existence, it was grown into this muscular giant. So much so, that nobody now remembered it as a tender, weak or small plant, starting to grow to become a tree one day. All everybody remembers is, what it made out of Itself Today.

It appeared strong enough to shake anyone that so much even thinks of coming close to harming It, Yet, even with so much strength and power that It held within, It chose not to threaten anybody with its power but to become an identity of the word "Giving". It gave shelter in the rain, It gave shade in the strong sun, it gave place to the birds to breed and grow their children. This humbleness of its unselfish character drew not the fear but devotion and respect from one and all.

The growing up conditions that a Daisy or a Willow received were no different than what a Banyan tree got, but the way It wanted to grow had made all the difference. The way It chose to live Its life fills me with respect for It even when it has been sliced to death.