My morning walks have started becoming my new Gurukul. Everyday some or the other learning happens and Nature is my knowledgeable teacher. While on a walk yesterday, I saw a lots of seeds scattered on the sidewalk. I bent down and picked up one of the tiny seeds from the ground and rolled it between my fingers. It was small, almost insignificant, yet I knew that if planted, it had the potential to grow into a mighty tree. That thought stayed with me. And when I sat down after the walk, my chaotic mind took me on a wild spin.
How could something so small contain something so vast? I started imagining what all intelligence would be packed inside that small spherical seed just a few millimetres across - how to find ways to move to the right environment to grow, how to put down roots, how to find water, how to sprout branches and leaves and flowers and fruits, how to learn the science of converting sunlight into oxygen. Oh! man. The thought itself was mind boggling. A story started to form in my head. I imagined a conversation between the seed and the wise old tree.
The seed feeling unimportant, sighed and asked, “How can I ever become like you? You’re tall and strong. I’m just… me. I don’t think I’ll ever be like you.”
The tree rustled its leaves as if chuckling. “And why is that?”
“Look at me!” the seed said. “I’m tiny. Fragile. You, on the other hand, are strong and unshakable. You give shade to these people who walk past you everyday, shelter to birds, and fruit to those in need. I can’t even imagine being something like that.”
The tree swayed gently in the wind. “I was once like you, you know.”
The seed was startled. “You? But how?”
The tree smiled. “Everything I am today was already inside me when I was a seed like you. The roots, the branches, the fruit—they were all waiting to emerge. I didn’t become this overnight. I had to trust the soil, endure storms, and keep growing—bit by bit, season by season. And that needed a lot of patience too.”
The seed hesitated. “But what if I never grow?”
The tree’s voice was kind. “That’s only possible if you refuse to believe in yourself. Growth isn’t about wishing—it’s about allowing. It is about trusting what’s within you. If you surrender to the process, the sun will find you, the rain will nourish you, and the earth will hold you. And before you know it, you’ll stretch toward the sky, just as I did.”
The seed was silent. Could it really be true? Was it possible that everything it needed was already within?
The sound of a lawnmower jerked me out of the reverie. I was still holding that seed in my hand and then I suddenly realized—we are all like it. We carry within us untapped potential, but doubt, fear, or circumstances often make us question our own growth. We look at others who have grown strong and feel small in comparison. We think we lack what they have. We hesitate, unsure if we are capable of becoming something greater.
Some of us are still underground, waiting for the right conditions to emerge. Some have sprouted but fear the storms. Others have grown tall but forget they were once fragile seeds too.
Yet, the truth remains: the tree is already inside us.
The only question is—are we ready to grow?
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