FOODFORTHOUGHT

THE SEED
Author Unknown
January 14, 2010

In the Far East the emperor was growing old and knew it was time to
choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his
children, he decided to do something different. He called young people
in the kingdom together one day. He said, "It is time for me to step
down and choose the
next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you."

The children were shocked, but the emperor continued. "I am going to
give each one of you a seed today - one very special seed. I want you
to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today
with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the
plants that you bring,
and the one I choose will be the next emperor."

One boy, named Ling, was there that day and he, like the others,
received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his mother the
story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the
seed and watered it, carefully. Everyday, he would water it and watch
to see if it had grown.. After about three weeks, some of the other
youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were
beginning to grow. Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.
Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now,
others were talking about their plants, but Ling didn't have a plant
and he felt like a failure. Six months went by -- still nothing in
Ling's pot.

He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall
plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his friends,
however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow. A year finally
went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the
emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn't going to
take an empty pot. But his mother asked him to be honest about what
happened.

Ling felt sick at his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He
took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at
the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were beautiful
-- in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and
many of the other children
laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey, nice
try."

When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young
people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants,
trees, and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today one of
you will be appointed the next emperor!"

All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with
his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling
was terrified. He thought, "The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he
will have me killed!"

When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is
Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him.
The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then
announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!"

Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could
he be the new emperor?

Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a
seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it
back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds that would not grow.
All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers.
When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another
seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage
and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he Is the
one who will be the new
emperor!"

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust. If you plant goodness, you
will reap friends. If you plant humility, you will reap greatness. If
you plant perseverance, you will reap victory. If you plant
consideration, you will reap harmony. If you plant hard work, you will
reap success. If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.
If you plant faith, you will reap miracles. So be careful what you
plant, now; it will determine what you will reap tomorrow. The seeds
you now scatter will make life worse or better for
you or for the ones who will come after you. Someday you will enjoy
the fruits or you will pay for the choices you make.

Two thousand years ago someone else told the same story with fewer
words, "What you sow, so shall you reap". If you know who said this,
nothing else needs to be said.

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