“A baobab is something you will never, never be able to get rid of if you attend to it too late.”
Indeed, there are a lot of things we bury in the depths of our minds. Memories we cherish, information we store, knowledge we use, and so on. But what we must never store for a long time are problems. Just like weeds in a garden, problems disrupt the bloom of beautiful memories in our minds. Instead of positive thoughts, we keep thinking of problems – we feed them, water them, and fertilize them – until they grow so big that there is no more space left for any other thoughts. A problem is a certain negative element that we can’t just be lazy about to get rid of. We must be brave enough to face it on the first time we recognize it.
“You must see to it that you pull up regularly all the baobabs, at the very first moment when they can be distinguished from the rose-bushes…”
Problems are constant things. When we solve one, another one might come along. Hence, it requires us to be vigilant in every step we take. A problem might pop right in front of you when you least expect it. So to avoid surprise attacks, always choose to make appropriate decisions. Even though our decisions may not be perfect, as long as they are appropriate in the given situation, we lessen the possibility of incurring problems. Always look forward when decisions are being made so as to prepare ourselves for the coming of the unwanted.
“It is very tedious work, but very easy.”
Of course, facing one’s problem has always been a bumpy ride. There are times that problems can be solved easily – that is, when we instantly apply a solution once it exposes itself – but it would still require some extra effort from us because it is out of the typical work we do. It is especially difficult to solve when we left it untouched in the back of our minds for a long time. But this should not discourage us to face these problems. We must be more inspired to put it on our desk and dissect it to be able to reveal how we can actually defeat it. It might entail a lot of work, but it will surely be something worthwhile.
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A lot of people – or is it safe to say ‘everyone’ – face different problems in their lives. But I was inspired by the book, The Little Prince (where the quotes above came from). The chapter wherein the author compared problems to baobabs, it is where I realized how problems can truly affect one’s thoughts. It would definitely be scary to have problems fill our minds instead of letting the “rose-bushes” or positive thoughts dominate our wonderful garden. This post intends to share to my readers about my insights on problems and how to handle them. I do hope I inspired you the way The Little Prince inspired me, too.
