It was high autumn. An olive tree and a fig tree stood near each other. The fig tree lost all its leaves and became quite bare. The olive tree laughed at the fig tree saying, “How unlucky you are! You lose your leaves every autumn to be bare. But I flourish all the year round.” The fig tree calmly replied, “Friend! It’s my destiny to be bare and yours to be evergreen. There is nothing to feel humble or proud about it. It is out of control of both of us.” Few days later, there occurred a heavy snow-fall. The snow settled on the leaves of the olive tree for days. But as for the fig tree, the snow fell to the ground through its bare branches and it easily survived the snow-storms.
This parable highlights a great truth; it says that everything in this universe is well in time and place, though we might call the olive tree experience unfortunate or the fig tree experience fortunate. When we categorise situations and experiences into good/bad, appropriate/inappropriate or right/wrong, we forget that we are demonstrating our mistrust on the way things happen in this universe. The same engineer designs the rest rooms and the living rooms of a house. Qualities and attributes are always referential. What is wrong today could be right tomorrow or what is wrong to someone could be right to another. Same is the case with what we categorise good/bad and appropriate/inappropriate. The same snow fall gave distinct experiences to the fig and the olive.
