One stick, a bundle of sticks!

In my childhood, I often heard the story about a single stick and a bundle of sticks, which actually portrayed that 'united we stand and divided we fall' message.  One stick was easily breakable, but a whole bunch of sticks was a tough and almost impossible to break.

But today I see it in a different way.  It has nothing to do with the story having a great moral,  but it definitely has to do with sticks.  I apply this example to our daily life.

If we take life as one day at a time, it becomes easier to handle and overcome rather than perceiving it as a cluster of days which may become overwhelming and complicated.  A road from far seems curved and crooked but when we come closer it appears nothing but a straight road.  Similarly, another example I will give is also about the road.  From far it seems to be uphill or a ramp, but when we move closer it somehow appears flat.

Hence, if we see life as one stick at a time, it is easy to endure and overcome.  We can crumble a whole fat bunch of sticks by snapping one by one and the job gets done.  A whole bundle scares us and discourages us.

Today I see the same bunch of sticks with a different application.   Not that I am saying that the former lesson does not apply to the sticks anymore.  But only that I see that example in yet another way.

Lessons learnt in childhood stays with us and we can relate them in so many ways.  Amazing.  Right!