Two woodcutters were entrusted
with the work of cutting down the old rubber trees in an estate before
replanting. One of them was stout and strong. The other was lean and thin. On
the first day each of them could cut down the same number of trees. But the
next day, the lean man could cut more trees than his friend. The third day, the
trend continued, though the stout man worked harder without rest, sweating
profusely.
The stout man doubted his own
strength and suspected that he was becoming weaker as his performance was
steadily declining. He watched the work of the lean man to learn the secret of
his success. He was found to take frequent breaks and go away, apparently to
rest, but mysteriously, was more productive. The stout man asked his colleague
about his secret. The lean man said that every hour he used to take a short
break to rest and relax for a while, and during this period, he used to sharpen
his axe as it gets dull with repeated use. A sharp axe enables one to work more
effectively with less effort. The sharp axe cuts deeper and the occasional rest
supplies strength and energy.
This is true in our daily life. Some people
are always busy with their work. They do not find time to rest or sharpen their
mind. Meditation, prayer, reading good books, hobbies and healthy interaction
with family and society are the means to sharpen our personality and
spirituality. ‘Workaholics’ like alcoholics get addicted to work and find no
time to sharpen their ‘axe’. We can sharpen our axe (head, heart, hands and
habits) by prayer.
Abraham Lincoln once remarked, “If I had six
hours to cut down trees, I would spend the first three hours sharpening my axe
and the last three cutting down the trees.” If our axe is blunt and we don’t
sharpen it, we will have to work harder to use it.
.................................................................................
© By Dr. Babu Philip,
Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue,
Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu,
Former Professor, St. Dominic's College, Kanjirappally and Leo. S. John,
Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath, Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally, Kottayam-686507, Kerala , India
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