A Small Stop, A Big Victory

- "Beta, I told you to remove the pebbles first. But you thought stopping would make you lose the race. See what happened now?  You lost both the race and hurt yourself."

Jivram Joshi

I n a small town in India, a ten-year-old boy named Aarav used to go for a morning walk with his father, Rameshbhai, every day. Their favorite route was the gentle hill just outside the town, where the rising sun painted the sky in golden hues and the sound of temple bells echoed from afar.

One fresh morning, Aarav looked at his father with excitement and said,

"Papa, let's have a race today! Whoever reaches the top of the hill first will be the winner."

Rameshbhai smiled at his son's enthusiasm and agreed, "Alright, beta. Let's see who wins."

Both of them began running up the narrow hill path. The scent of wet soil and chirping of birds filled the air. After some time, Rameshbhai suddenly stopped.

Aarav, noticing this, slowed down and asked,

"Papa, what happened? Have you already accepted defeat?"

Rameshbhai chuckled and replied,

"No, beta. Some small pebbles got stuck in my shoes. I need to remove them."

Aarav, determined to win, said quickly,

"Even I have some pebbles in my shoes, Papa. But if I stop now, I'll lose the race. Once I reach the top, then I'll remove them!"

Saying this, he ran ahead with full energy.

Rameshbhai calmly sat on a stone, removed his shoes, shook out the pebbles, and then continued climbing at a steady pace.

Aarav had gone far ahead, but soon he began to feel sharp pain in his feet. The pebbles were pricking harder with every step. His running speed decreased, and gradually, his father started catching up.

From behind, Rameshbhai called out,

"Beta, why don't you stop for a moment and remove the pebbles?"

But Aarav, still stubborn, replied,

"I don't have time, Papa! If I stop, I'll lose."

Within minutes, Rameshbhai overtook him. Aarav's pain had worsened so much that he could not even walk anymore. Tears welled in his eyes as he cried,

"Papa, I can't run any further!"

Rameshbhai immediately ran back to his son, removed his shoes, and saw his little feet were bruised and bleeding from the tiny stones. Gently, he carried Aarav back home, washed his wounds, and applied medicine.

When the pain subsided a little, Rameshbhai explained softly,

"Beta, I told you to remove the pebbles first. But you thought stopping would make you lose the race. See what happened now? You lost both the race and hurt yourself."

Aarav lowered his head and whispered, "I thought I was saving time…"

Rameshbhai patted his son's head and said,

"Life is also like this, Aarav. When problems appear, if we keep postponing them thinking we don't have time, they keep growing bigger. In the beginning, it would have taken you just one minute to remove the pebbles. But to save that one minute, you will now have to rest for a whole week to heal your feet."

Aarav listened carefully, his young mind absorbing the lesson.

Moral: 

Tackle problems while they are still small. Ignoring them only makes them grow bigger, harder, and more painful in the long run.