The parable that explains a paradox...
life lessons are best taught with stories
In today's edition of Burke's Bits:
Character Weakness Can Be A Strength
Marketing Tip
From the Research Files
Pun of the Day
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Weakness Is Strength
This is just one of the many paradoxes in my life.
I’m neither a theological scholar or an expert in biblical teachings.
I’m just a human being struggling daily with the weaknesses of character and spirit.
And, I do believe there is a God…and it’s not me.
The paradox of ‘weakness is strength’ is beautifully shown in this parable:
Once upon a time there were two little rose buds. They grew, and grew, and grew. One had a very hard stalk and became, in blooming, a lovely well-formed rose. The other had a stalk that had been weakened and damaged by the weather and bruises. It, too, bloomed into a lovely rose. In fact, the bloom itself was far more beautiful than the other rose. It had a softness and a delicacy and an aroma about it which made it a strikingly beautiful rose.
The gardener came along. Attracted by the beauty and loveliness of this particular rose he came closer the better to see and admire its beauty. Then he noticed the weak stalk. He even saw brown patches on the stalk which he knew might soon spread into the bloom itself. So he got splint. And he wired the stalk, and he watered it carefully and pruned it. And then a terrible storm arose.
The rose with the healthy stalk was blown and battered by the wind and the rain. Soon the stalk broke and the rose fell heavily to the ground. In a very short time its petals shriveled and withered and turned brown. The rose was dead.
But the rose with the weakened stalk which had now strong, unbending splint to reinforce it, withstood the gale. And when the storm had passed and the sun began again to shine – almost perceptibly it turned its beautiful petals to the light and “smiled” more lovely than ever and with an aroma even more delicate than before the storm.
So, what happened? In its weakness it had found strength. On its own it would have been much less able to withstand the onslaught of the elements than its more hardy neighbor, but the master had, in its very weakness, given to it a protection and a strength not given to the healthy one.
And what do I take away from this? That because I draw security and strength from my Creator I am much more secure than the one who is “on his own”. Because I am dependent on the incredibly strong power of Divinity, I can be strong and secure, while the one who is “on his own” draws strength only from himself – a weak position.
One more parable to illustrate:
The house built on sand and the house built on rocks. When the storms came and the wind blew the house on sand was destroyed; the house on the rocks remained intact. It was not on its own strong structure that saved the house on the rocks – it was the rocks.
How is my foundation today?
Is it based on God/Creator or on my own weak character?
These are important questions for someone like me, who is prone to self-centeredness and such independence that sometimes I forget to ask for help.
Just something to think about.
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Marketing & Business Tip
The Hare & The Tortoise
The Hare was always boasting of his speed. "I have never yet been beaten," he would say, "when I’m at full speed. I challenge anyone here to race me."
The Tortoise said quietly, "I accept your challenge."
"That’s a joke," said the Hare. "I could dance round you all the way."
"Keep your boasting till you've beaten me," answered the Tortoise. "Shall we race?"
So a course was created, a starting line and finish line declared, and the flag came down to start the race.
The Hare darted almost out of sight at once, but soon stopped to show his contempt for the Tortoise and lay down to have a nap.
The Tortoise plodded on and plodded on. When the Hare awoke from his nap he saw the Tortoise just near the winning-line and could not run up in time to save the race.
Then said the Tortoise: "Plodding wins the race."
Now you may be wondering what a cocky bunny and a plodding tortoise have to do with businesses internet or otherwise. The answer is a lot more than you might think!
Let's look at the modern internet businesses and start-ups. They are the cocky little bunnies. They're rushing around plying their wares, often not sticking with a single idea or product but jumping around to meet the current fad or follow an emerging trend.
Many of these companies bring great rewards very quickly. But, many them get complacent. For each company that succeeds there are tens of failures. The thing that causes a lot of these companies to fail is the fads and trends ending and them having nothing left to fall back on.
Their immediate success makes them complacent. They see only the short term gains. They are lulled by the great rewards.
Now look at the big old corporate companies. They are the tortoises and they plod along selling their services, running their race. Yes, they may not be the fastest out of the gate, but those changing fads and trends the bends in the race course are easy for them to negotiate because of their lower speed. So little by little they catch up to the cocky little hot footed bunny.
They too get complacent in their race. But - their slow plodding gait brings continual gains, not a burst of gains like those felt by the rabbit.
Now off the top of your head ... name five companies. How many are the speedy little start-ups? How many are the slow plodding corporates?
Here's the lesson: Slow and steady wins the race...
You want to win?
Learn to always move forward, even if progress is slow. Stick to your long term plan. Sure you'll pick up some fast rewards along the way. But - when those aren't there the steady trickle will keep you in the running while the cocky bunnies are napping.
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From the Research Files
aka random bits of info you may or may not be able to use in your life
Myth: Velcro was invented by NASA for the space program.
Fact: Velcro was already commercially available before being used by NASA. It did receive a huge boost in popularity after being used by NASA on parts of astronauts’ space suits as well as used to allow astronauts to store things along the walls of their space craft. Because of this, similar to Tang, it is a common misconception that Velcro was invented by or for NASA.
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Pun of the Day
I was going to buy a book on phobias, but I was afraid it wouldn’t help me.
With Gratitude,
Charlene Burke
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“Stories you read when you're the right age never quite leave you. You may forget who wrote them or what the story was called. Sometimes you'll forget precisely what happened, but if a story touches you it will stay with you, haunting the places in your mind that you rarely ever visit.” ~ Neil Gaiman