Once upon a time a little reed was growing at a riverside.
It looked into the world around and thought to itself: How do I want to live?
It saw some beautiful blue butterflies and it thought, I want to nourish these beautiful butterflies! I will go and make very lush blossoms in the spring!
It saw the stunning oaks and high poplar trees and admired their vitality and longevity and it thought, I want to strengthen myself inside, to be like them! When something good happens to me, I appreciate myself and all the helpers who made it happen.
And it did just that.
It tried to be strong and make lush blooms to nourish others.
It praised itself and all the wonderous helpers when something beautiful occured. When a butterfly came along it tried to look gorgeous in order to be seen and to be able to provide good food for it.
One day, a terrible storm occured. Some of the majestic trees got hurt, were losing branches or even fell and smashed to the ground. It was terrible to look at.
The next time the sun came out a butterfly came by. It saw that the reed was fully intact and asked curiously: How did you manage to survive the storm without any damage?
The reed answered: My life is quite simple. I want to nourish beautiful beings like you and I want to develop strength. But in order to weather the storms of life I just bend and let the harsh winds blow over me. The stronger it blows, the more I humble myself. I know I am not a tree. I know about my weakness. So I humbly bow to the forces that are much stronger than me. This makes me endure difficult times.
This little story I made up for you is just a little reminder on the basics.
True size is to be built up inside. Very quiet, very privatly.
We build it very diligently and without talking much about it. Inner size is built by our little victories. When we find solutions for our problems and when we develop stamina, when things get rough.
Some of our victories are minute. But when we make it a habit to see them we build up a strong core that’s like a rock in the always moving sea water of life.
Showing smallness to the world on the other hand is more than good etiquette.
Our true size on the outside should be small and very humble.
Aiming to look big or special for the outer world is foolish. For as humans we are small, we are not elephants, not mountains and not planets. We are just humans, with lots of flaws and shortcomings.
So we are small and big at the same time.
Small is for the outer world and big is for the inner.
We should never mix that up.
The best way we do this is by encouraging and nourishing others.
It makes us blossom, be our most beautiful self and it attracts spectacular butterflies.
Much love to you,
Anselma
