Someone shared a quote with me recently that went like this:
"Once you carry your own water, you will learn the value of every drop."
It underpins the value of hard work.
You will ever only appreciate the things you have to work for.
It’s true.
However, before we can carry water we need a bucket.
Some use buckets others have created.
A few will build their own buckets.
Next, where do you get the water?
Some will take the bucket someone else created and head to the village well, that someone else dug. They will fill their bucket and carry it back.
Others will locate a river and clear miles of a thick forest to create a path so they can carry water in the bucket they made.
When its all said and done each one of these people have a respect for carrying water.
It’s work. You don’t want to be wasteful.
But the few that built their own buckets will have a much deeper respect for the process.
The one who had to clear his own path outside of the safety of the village will have scars.
Today, it looks like they are both just carrying buckets of water.
But how they got the water is everything.
The challenges overcome is what shapes the human, not just daily effort.
As I raise my children, I want them to value every drop of water. But I also want them to know how to build a bucket. And I want them to be able to clear a path.
Try harder,
JM