Pay Undivided Attention To Whatever You Do
There
was once a farmer in Spain who had three sons and one daughter. One day, the farmer
became very ill and a passing traveler told his family that he could only be
saved by the ‘water of life’. “Where do you get that?” said Alonzo, the eldest
son. “From a well on a mountaintop which is three days hard riding away from
here,” said the stranger. And so, Alonzo set off. After three days riding, he came
to the mountain and met an old man.
Alonzo
asked him about the water of life. “Well, you will get it from a well up
there, but let me give you some advice. As you climb, you will find many of the
stones shout, jeer and mock you. Don’t look at them or touch them.” That sounds
easy, thought Alonzo and went on. He began climbing the mountain and immediately
the stones began to jeer at him, mock him and call him names. He paid no attention
until one stone in particular, called Alonzo, a boaster and a bragger.
On
hearing this, Alonzo was furious, perhaps because this insult was rather near
the truth. Angrily, he turned towards the stone and immediately turned into a
stone himself. Two weeks later, the second son Carlo set out to get the ‘water of
life’ and to find his brother. He found the mountain and the old man and received
exactly the same warning. Soon, he was climbing up the mountain and ignored the
cries of the stones, until suddenly, he felt he heard his brother’s voice and
he too was turned into stone. A week later, the third son, Alfredo was on the
mountain.
Having
heard the old man’s warning, he was singing and whistling to drown the sounds
of the stone’s voices. Suddenly, he heard the song of a charming lady and his
attention was diverted to the sweet voice and he turned to see the lady. The inevitable
happened and he also turned into a stone. The farmer was by now very weak and
in the last desperate effort to save his life, Maria, his daughter set off to
find the ‘water of life’. When she heard the old man’s warning, she decided
that her father’s life depended on her getting the water, so no matter what the
stones shouted, she kept her eyes fixed on the well up ahead.
Eventually,
she reached it and filled her goatskin full of the precious liquid. As she did,
a drop fell on a stone nearby which immediately turned into a man. At once,
Maria felt she must help here too, so she went on sprinkling a drop each on all
the stones there and soon there was a large gathering of men and women
including her three brothers. Finally, she reached the bottom with just enough water
for her father. With the whole crowd cheering and thanking her, Maria and her
brothers arrived home and restored their father back to good health.
QUESTION
1. What
is the implication of this story?
ANSWER
1. With
total devotion and concentration, anything can be achieved.
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