Dandelions

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A man who took great pride in his fawn found himself with a large crop of dandelions. He fried every method he knew to destroy them. Still they plagued him.

Finally he wrote the Department of Agriculture. He enumerated all the things he had tried and closed his letter with the question: “What shall I do now?”

In due course the reply came: “We suggest you learn to love them.”

(Anthony de Mello SJ, "The Song Of The Bird")

Bunga Tapal-Kuda

Seseorang yang bangga akan halaman rumahnya yang berumput indah, menjadi kecewa melihat tumbuh suburnya bunga-bunga tapal kuda. Semua usaha sudah dicobanya untuk membasmi bunga-bunga itu, namun mereka tetap saja merajalela.

Akhirnya ia menulis surat kepada Departemen Pertanian. Satu persatu ia menyebutkan usaha yang telah dicobanya dan mengakhiri suratnya dengan pertanyaan: "Apa yang semestinya kulakukan sekarang?"

Tidak lama kemudian datanglah surat balasan: "Kami menganjurkan supaya Anda berusaha menyenangi bunga tapal-kuda."

(Anthony de Mello SJ, "Burung Berkicau")