“Calamities can bring growth and enlightenment,” said the Master.
He explained like this: “Each day a bird would shelter in the withered branches of a tree that stood in the middle of a vast deserted plain. One day a whirlwind uprooted the tree, forcing the poor bird to fly a hundred miles in search of shelter—till it finally reached a forest of fruit-laden trees.”
The Master concluded, “If the withered tree had survived, nothing would have induced the bird to give up its security and fly.”
— Anthony de Mello