| Category: | Inspirational |
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In the field across the lane were two trees. One was a mighty Red Oak tree. Its wood was hard and its trunk was thick and strong. The other was a lean Willow tree. Its wood was a lot softer and its trunk was slimmer and more supple.
One day a hurricane passed over the area with winds well over 100 miles an hour. How would the two trees fare in this terrible weather? Would the slender willow tree blow down from the force of these very strong winds?
When the hurricane passed, pieces of branches and leaves were scattered all over the area. There were broken and torn off parts from all kinds of trees, even from far away. The big oak had cracked and fallen in the storm. But, the lean Willow tree was still standing. It had lost many leaves and was a little bent to one side, but it was still standing. It must have been tossed and blown, whipped back and forth in the heavy wind, but it was still standing. How could this be? How could the mighty oak, with all its great strength, break and fall, and this smaller tree, with softer wood, remain standing against the force of the winds? The answer is simple. The willow tree knew how to bend.
Learning to bend is not a sign of weakness, it's really a sign of strength. Often, for the good of the group, it's important to compromise. Instead of being stubborn about what we want and the way we think things should be done, there will be occasions when we've just got to bend.