Prisha Khimavat

This is part of a writing challenge. Click here to read more about it

The oak and the lily

Grow side by side

Growing without knowing

Where true power lies

The oak magnificent

The lily impotent

One day comes a storm

Dark, menacing, evil

Stronger than the oak

Weaker than the lily

It shakes and breaks all resolve

Everyone comes out evolved

The oak lies on the ground

The lily stands tall and strong

The stronger turned out weak

The weaker came out strong

There was this story I was told as a child that talked about how a storm would take down a tree that couldn’t bend with it, but a plant that would bend and sway would survive. It was all about adaptability and being flexible. My whole life it’s something I’ve held on to, but never really stopped to think about its implication in different situations.

In today’s day and age, we are often encouraged to stand up for ourselves, to be firm in our beliefs and to fight for what we want. However, my whole life I’ve been taught the importance of flexibility and that people appreciate those who are willing to listen, change and bend with the wind, or go with the flow.

Now, when I stop to think about it, there are so many different sides to this conversation. Someone who’s always standing up for their own wants can be taken for being selfish and not thinking about other people. Someone who is constantly bending their will for other people is taken to be gullible and is often taken advantage of. So, where do you draw the line?

Is there something between an Oak tree and a lily?

Perhaps the right place to be is there. A place where we listen to others wants but don’t let that dictate our decisions. A place where we have our own beliefs, but we understand and respect that others have their own. A place that reflects independence and community. Somewhere between being pushed around and being alone.

Neither here nor there, but rather somewhere in between.

~ Prisha Khimavat ~

Duration: 31 minutes and 12 seconds