Once a man got lost in a desert.🚶♂
The water in his flask had run out two days ago, and he was on his last legs. He knew that if he did not get some water soon, he would surely die.
The man saw a small hut ahead of him.
He thought it would be a mirage or maybe a hallucination. But having no other option, he moved toward it. As he got closer, he realised it was quite real.
So he dragged his tired body to the door with his last strength.
The hut was not occupied. It seemed like it had been abandoned for quite some time. The man entered it, hoping against hope that he might find water inside.
His heart skipped a beat when he saw what was in the hut - a water hand pump......It had a pipe going down through the floor, perhaps tapping a source of water deep underground.
He began working the hand pump, but no water came out. He kept at it and still nothing happened. Finally, he gave up from exhaustion and frustration. He threw up his hands in despair. It looked as if he was going to die after all.
Then the man noticed a bottle in one corner of the hut. It was filled with water and corked up to prevent evaporation.
He uncorked the bottle and was about to drink the sweet life-giving water. Then he noticed a piece of paper attached to it.
Handwriting on the paper read :
"Use this water to start the pump. Don't forget to fill the bottle when you're done."
He had a dilemma. He could follow the instruction and pour the water into the pump, or he could ignore it and just drink the water.
What to do?
If he let the water go into the pump, what guarantee did he have that it would work? What if the pump malfunctioned? What if the pipe had a leak? What if the underground reservoir had long dried up?
But then... maybe the instruction was correct.
Should he risk?
If it turned out to be false, he would be throwing away the last water he would ever see.
Hands trembling, he poured the water into the pump. Then he closed his eyes, said a prayer, and started working the pump. He heard a gurgling sound, and the water came gushing out, more than he could possibly use. He luxuriated in the cool and refreshing stream.
He was going to live!
After drinking, he felt very happy and wonderful. Then he looked around the hut. He found a pencil and a map of the region. The map showed that he was still far away from civilization, but at least now he knew where he was and which direction to go.
He filled his flask for the journey ahead. He also filled the bottle and put the cork back in.
Before leaving the hut, he added his own writing below the instruction: "Believe me, it works!"
This story is all about life. It teaches a few good things.
The water bottle and the note were like an opportunity in life, there is always a risk when we work on the opportunity but most people don’t realize this and leave the opportunity just because of one reason, “What if I fail?”
What if the man in the story didn’t pour in the water into the hand pump and drank it.
Maybe he would have survived for some more hours, then what?
He would have eventually died. Same happens in life also, if we do not try then we have already failed but if you do there is still a chance.
You don’t want to start a business, because you are afraid of failing not realizing that the job you will be doing(which you're doing just for money and stability and ignoring your dreams and passion) is a failure for your life. Your salary is the bribery that the company pays you to forget your dreams.
You don't want to follow your passion, because you are afraid of what people are going to think.
We all are like that man in the story...
Just one decision can give us a new life. So step out and take that decision.
Don't miss out on opportunities. The biggest risk in life is not to take any risk.
