The Seedling of Joy

Every night, I go to bed with a sweet dream. I dream of a comfy little cottage in the hills, surrounded by big old trees, and a winding road passing by the cottage. Vehicles travelling by that road stop by the cottage, and knock at the door. Loving old granny opens the door and says "What is it, my child?" This dear old granny continues to inspire me all my life!

I am sure you have not heard of her. She comes from a story I read as a child. I don't remember the name of the book, or the person who wrote the story. I only remember the story of our dear old granny who lived in the woods!

It was the story of an old lady, who lived in a little cottage in the midst of the forest all by herself! Around the cottage, she had planted a beautiful garden. She would grow juicy fruits and nutritious vegetables in her garden, and many beautiful flowers too!

She would harvest the fruits and vegetables from time to time, and sell them in the village market. The village people would be more than happy to buy them as the freshest of the fruits and vegetables that were sold in the market! They would enjoy healthy, sumptuous meals, thanks to granny's garden!

If someone in the village was ill, granny would prepare a bouquet of colourful sweet-smelling flowers, and gift it to the patient. The patients would feel a glimmer of sunshine in their hearts, with the flowers by their side!

But one day, some men came to the cottage with a huge bulldozer, saying that they would have to bring down granny's little cottage, to build a road through the hills.

Old granny put up a brave fight against them, till people from the village heard the news and came to support granny. It was then decided that the road would go just a bit around granny's cottage and garden. The cottage would not have to be brought down.

Soon the road was built, and the pleasant sight of granny watering the garden became familiar to the people who passed by. As they learnt about the tasty fruits and vegetables and beautiful flowers that grew in the garden, the travellers would often stop by to buy these, or simply to greet granny on their way…

What a beautiful world the old granny had created for herself! Not deterred by old age, not deterred by the forest that surrounded the cottage, not deterred by the mighty bulldozer, granny found joy in the beautiful world she had made around her!"

This story shows us how a simple life can be truly beautiful and fulfilling, and how we can be happy with small things in life, like our dear old granny!

So many decades since I read that story, endearing granny continues to inspire me!