Perhaps nothing in nature knows the value of waiting as does the seed of a plant. While on an average, seeds can wait for at least a year before sprouting, some seeds like cherry seeds have the capacity to wait for a hundred years.
In her book "Lab Girl", Hope Jahren writes about an experiment conducted on the exterior layer of lotus seed (Nelumbo nucifera). After the scientists broke open its exterior layer and nurtured its embryo towards growth, they subjected the empty husk to radiocarbon dating. To their great amazement, they found that that particular seedling had been waiting over 2000 years for its single opportunity at life, without giving up hope, even while kingdoms and empires were rising and falling around it.
But what exactly was the seed waiting for? We don't know. Perhaps it was waiting for an optimal combination of temperature-moisture-light-nutrients that gave it a better chance at survival, so that its one chance at life was not wasted.
Let's compare this with the process of the beginning of human life. Millions of sperms compete for the entry into one egg. Here too, there is only one shot at the possibility of a fusion, without any scope for the waiting.
A seed is very much alive as it waits, silently and patiently. Next time when you tread into a forest and wonder at the marvel of those majestic oaks that stretch far above into the sky making you crane your neck to get a glimpse of its tip, don't forget to turn your wonder-struck gaze towards those hundreds of seeds strewn about the ground too.
Denne historien er fra October 2023-utgaven av Yoga and Total Health.
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Denne historien er fra October 2023-utgaven av Yoga and Total Health.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Pay the Price for Peace
Attachment or freedom? The choice is yours
Floating Through Life
When the going gets tough, the tough surrender
Sublimate your Emotions
Remember that emotion is ego in motion
A Lesson from Ravana
Reading between the lines
The Strokes of Daily Effort
What makes a good person great?
From Science to Pseudo-science - Part II
Where there is light there will also be darkness
The Trap of Reaction
Think, understand and only then act
Simple Is Best
We dismiss things as too ordinary and it is our loss
The Importance Of The 'Emergency Kit'
How to overcome difficult times by oneself
हृदय शुद्ध तो परेशानियाँ गौण
जिस मनुष्य का हृदय मलिन होगा उसमें ज्ञानाग्नि जलाने की शक्ति उतनी ही क्षीण होगी, जिसका हृदय शुद्ध होगा वह पल भर में ही आत्म-ज्ञान प्राप्त कर सकता है । यह आत्मज्ञान का मार्ग बहुत ही साहस का मार्ग है।