I grew up in Ooty on a tiny farm.

My dad wasn’t a full time farmer (he was a teacher), but we did have a farm running all the while. It was too small to make us any money, yet my father enjoyed working on it.

One of the things I learned from the farm was this. First you prepare, then you sow and only then shall you reap.

Things don’t happen fast on a farm. Things take their own pace.

First, you have to prepare the soil.

Then you need to sow wisely knowing what to plant and when.

It’s not over yet. You still need to take care of the crops. Ensure there’s adequate water and protection. You have to nurture your crop over a few days at least.

After a few months of seemingly no or slow activity, things look different. Fully grown plants.

Only then do you reap a harvest!

It doesn’t happen overnight, over the week or over the month. In some cases, it’s years (trees).

No matter how miniscule, harvesting is a very fulfilling experience. Nothing matches the beauty of seeing your hard work bear fruit.

In today’s chaotic world, we have to keep reminding ourselves that things don’t happen overnight and it’s not good to have such inconsistent expectations from life. There’s a word for super fast growth – cancer. Yet, we all fall prey to growing fast, here and now.

I keep reminding myself the rule of the farm!

First you prepare, then you sow and only then shall you reap.