THE SECRET OF THE TREE

THE SECRET OF THE TREE

21-NOV-ENG 2

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA---------------------------A man worked as a sales manager for a multinational company. He used his savings to build a luxurious house outside the city. Being outside the city, the area was somewhat secluded.

The man moved into his new home with his wife and children. He would leave for work early in the morning and return late in the evening.

Seeing such a luxurious house in a secluded location, a group of thieves planned to commit a theft. Before the theft, they circled around the manager's house to observe his activities.

On the very first day, they noticed a strange behavior from the manager. Upon returning home, he first went to the mango tree in his garden and began taking items out of his office bag and placing them in the tree.

Because the manager's back was turned towards the thieves, they couldn't see what he had taken out of his bag and where he had placed them. They assumed it must be something valuable.

The thieves hid near the manager's house and waited for darkness to fall. When the lights went out at night, they were sure everyone in the house was asleep.

They scaled the wall, entered the lawn, and went straight to the mango tree. Wasting no time, they began searching for the manager's hidden items. But despite their exhaustive search, they found nothing. Finally, exhausted, they returned.

The next day, they hid near the house again. When the manager returned from office, the thieves' eyes were fixed on him. As they had the previous day, he first went to the mango tree and began putting something in it, taking it out of his bag. Then, he went inside the house.

That night, after the lights went out, the thieves scaled the wall, reached the mango tree, and began searching diligently for the things the manager had hidden there. But they found nothing that day.

For a few days, they continued to search near the mango tree regularly every night. But they found nothing. They were perplexed, wondering how the manager managed to hide such things in the tree that even cunning thieves like us couldn't find them. The thieves were now more curious about this mystery than the theft itself.

Finally, to satisfy their curiosity, they all went to the manager's house on Sunday to meet him. They greeted him like gentlemen.

Then the leader of the thieves said, "Sir... please don't mind. I wanted to ask you something. We are thieves. For the past few days, we've been looking to steal from your house. Every day we see you come home in the evening and put something in the mango tree. But despite our best efforts, we haven't been able to find those things. We're all desperate to know how you hide things there, that we can't find them even after so many attempts."

The manager laughed after listening to the thieves, then said, "Hey, brother... I don't hide anything there. You guys have misunderstood."

"No, sir, we've seen it. Every evening, you take something out of your bag and put it in the tree. You hide something there," the thieves said in unison.

The manager grew serious and said, "I'm a sales manager for a multinational company. The workload is immense, which is why stress is inevitable. Targets have to be met at any cost. To achieve this, I have to argue with someone or the other every day. I have to endure taunts from customers. I have to endure the boss's scolding. The mental stress is so intense that it doesn't go away even when I come home. In the past, my family often bore my stress unnecessarily." After a pause, the manager continued, “…When I built this new house, I thought I would keep the atmosphere peaceful. I would never bring office stress home. So, after coming home, the first thing I do is go to the mango tree and dump all my stress there, one by one. The amazing thing is that by the time I go to pick it up the next day, half of my stress is gone. Whatever little remains, I take it with me.

But then when I return home in the evening, I leave my stress with the tree. This is the secret of the tree.”

After listening to the manager, the thieves understood the secret of the tree. They were not successful in stealing, but they certainly learned a great life lesson.

Friends! In today's times, the means of comfort and convenience are increasing, and life is becoming more comfortable. But somewhere along the way, stress is also increasing. You must have often seen that people bring work stress home. This way, they can't live peacefully at home, and their stress also affects their family members. Is it necessary to carry the burden of stress all the time?

Isn't this making life more difficult? Stress can't be eliminated completely. But at least when you're home with your family, you can keep it at bay and spend happy moments with them. So, whenever you come home, leave the stress outside.

Get rid of a stressful life --- with the feeling that your life should be stress-free!!