Pep talk

Here's a story which my manager narrated to me today and it made profound sense to me. Kind of set the alarm bells inside ringing. Here goes-

Once upon a time there was a teacher and his disciple. The teacher taught the student many things and the student absorbed everything like a sponge. When the student was tested, he performed brilliantly, but there wasn't a trace of happiness or satisfaction on the teacher's face. The teacher took greater pains to teach his disciple all the tricks and tips. The student worked harder in the hope that this time his teacher will be pleased. Again when he was tested, he did well but the teacher wasn't happy. It went on this way for a long time. Then slowly the student began to get frustrated. He could take it no more. No matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried, there wasn't an iota of appreciation from the teacher nor a pat on the back for a job well done. He decided to give up. He decided to end his life but before he did that, he concluded that his teacher didn't have a right to live either. He decided to commit suicide by jumping off the building after throwing a huge and heavy stone on the teacher's head as the teacher walked out of the building. He waited patiently for his teacher to emerge. His teacher came out with another teacher. The student couldn't decide upon the moment of throwing the stone, because he didn't want to kill the other teacher. That way it would be a lost cause. He happened to overhear the conversation between his teacher and the other teacher. The other teacher said to the first one "This guy has worked so hard. He is the best student we have, but never have you shown him any appreciation, nor have you patted him on the back. Why is that?" To that the teacher replied "I know he is the best, you know he is the best, but he does not know he is the best. If I tell him, that he is the best, he will stop working and will never realize his full potential. I know for a fact that he is capable of much more than this and I want him to get to the greatest height possible."

I found astounding similarities between life and that teacher. We work very hard in our lives just like that student. We learn from our mistakes and always strive to better our best. But it isn't everytime that life rewards us. It isn't everytime that our family and friends come up with kind, encouraging and optimistic words for us. There are times when our efforts go unnoticed. When our turmoil isn't acknowledged. But that does not mean we give up. Because that is an indication that we are capable of more than we think we are. It's said that gold gets purified only when it passes through the fire seven times. Not everyone goes through the fire. Not everyone has an equal amount of hardships to face in life. Because not everyone is like gold.