The Magic Bamboo Trees

Found this fact out abt the Chinese Bamboo Tree during a talk by a firefighter in BC who’d been badly burned (80% of his body) in the line of duty, & took many yrs to heal – both physically & emotionally. A remarkable comeback.
 
This tree is uniquely diff from most in the way that it grows, specifically. While most grow steadily over a period of yrs, the Chinese Bamboo doesn’t break thru the ground for the first 4 YEARS – even w much sunlight, water, & fertilizer fed to it.
 
Then, in the 5th yr, something amazing happens – the tree begins to grow at an astonishing rate. In fact, in just 5 wks, a Chinese Bamboo can grow to a height of 90 ft. With that type of growth it’s almost as if you can actually see the tree growing before your eyes.
 
I had to verify that this was the case, before posting this factoid, & in doing some research, I came across many analogies between the growth of this tree type, & how success takes place. Think of the many yrs that went into developing the iPhone by Apple, before witnessing unheard of growth & sales.
 
But isn’t the Chinese Bamboo’s path also very similar to how we battle MH challenges? Ok it’s not 5 yrs for everyone, but, I hear this type of feedback daily from ppl who ask for help: “It’s been so long w/o happy feelings…nothing I try ever works…I’m doing all the right things & following what’s been told to me…I see everyone else going on w their lives & I’m stuck.”
 
Is it possible all the work we do put in, as we feel stagnant & unable to grow/improve, is actually strengthening our base (the equivalent of our own human “roots” system)? If success was measured by growth, we’d consider those first 4 yrs for the Bamboo unsuccessful. But they weren’t…they were preparing the tree for enormous growth.
 
Is it possible to look at your challenges – by saying you’re establishing a solid base & your own roots system? The pain, the time spent on practices, the frustration, couldn’t they be preparing you for growth like you’ve never seen?
 
I didn’t waste my 2.5 yrs in bed, & none of you have wasted any time either.  We’ve been preparing for our growth!