Growing With Problems

 (Taken from Sunburst, September 2000 issue; a publication by Singapore Technologies)

 

Born Free. But our minds are clogged with day-to-day worries.

 

Free your mind. That’s easy to say. Problems today seem part and parcel of our lives. We want less of it and yet some say problems can actually be good for us!

 

Here’s why.

 

Tour guides regularly take visitors to view the Great Barrier Reef which stretches some 1,800 miles from New Guinea to Australia. During one such tour, the guide was asked an interesting question. “I notice that the lagoon side of the reef looks pale and lifeless, while the ocean side is vibrant and colourful,” a traveller observed. “Why is this so?”

 

The guide’s answer was rather interesting:

 

“The coral around the lagoon side is in still water, with no challenge to its survival. Hence it dies early. However the coral on the ocean side is constantly tested by wind, waves and storms. It has to fight for survival every day of its life. As it is challenged and tested, it changes and adapts. It grows healthy. It grows strong. And it reproduces.”

 

The he added: “that’s the way it is with every living organism.”

 

And it’s the same with people! Challenged, tested and stretched to our limits, we come alive! Like corals pounded by the sea, we grow! Physical demands cause us to grow stronger. Mental and emotional stress produces toughness and resilience while spiritual testing builds strength of character and fortitude.

 

So, whenever you encounter problems, even seemingly unsurmountable ones, just tell yourself, “There I grow again!”