“The Bamboo Lesson”

Every morning, Maya jogged past the same patch of dirt in the park. One day, she noticed an old man planting something there. The next day, he watered it. And the next. Weeks passed—still nothing grew.

Curious, Maya finally asked, “Why keep watering? Nothing’s happening.”

The man smiled. “It’s bamboo. It sleeps under the soil for years, building roots. Then one day, it shoots up, taller than most trees in weeks.”

Maya blinked. “So all that time…”

“Wasn’t wasted,” he said. “Consistency doesn’t show right away. But when it does, it surprises even the sky.”