The Spring is Silent

As you grow, you learn to give much, and expect little. You also learn that much comes back from different sources, in many different ways. And sometimes you realise that you have nothing left to give...

As Bilbo Baggins put it, “You feel stretched, taut; like butter scraped over too much bread.”

People take you for granted. They know that you will take care of yourself. They let you take over their share of responsibility. They think that your spirit will spring eternally forth without the need to be nurtured. They assume others are giving you what you need. They are wrong.

We didn’t ask repayment for what we gave; yet our spirit yearns for it. And when the spirit lacks nourishment, it begins to fade. What once was effortlessly given; now becomes a burden to us. Still they fail to understand, why our giving is no longer blessed with joy. Still they give nothing away. They stand there; unheedful, uncaring, unconcerned that the spring is running dry.

Let’s not forget that the spring does not come about on its own. It grows from collective droplets of the rain. Little drops that fall on the ground, seeps deep into the earth, trickles and gathers, gaining strength, until it finally emerges forth into the sunlight again, flowing, giving, nurturing.

The spring is silent. Without rain, there would be little for it to give. And without its healing waters, the most verdant forest would turn into desert…

~ Let not our hearts die, for then what other reason would be left for us to live?