The most amazing plant - Chinese bamboo

In the Far East, there is a tree called the Chinese bamboo tree. This remarkable tree is different from most trees in that it doesn’t grow in the usual fashion. While most trees grow steadily over a period of years, the Chinese bamboo tree doesn’t break through the ground for the first four years. Then, in the fifth year, an amazing thing happens – the tree begins to grow at an astonishing rate. In fact, in a period of just five weeks, a Chinese bamboo tree can grow to a height of 90 feet. It’s almost as if you can actually see the tree growing before your very eyes. Well, I’m convinced that life often works in a similar way. You can work for weeks, months and even years on your dream with no visible signs of progress and then, all of the sudden, things take off. Your business becomes profitable beyond your wildest dreams. Your marriage becomes more vibrant and passionate than you ever thought it could be. Your contribution to your church, social organization and community becomes more significant than you have ever imagined. Yet, all of this requires one thing – faith. The growers of the Chinese bamboo tree have faith that if they keep watering and fertilizing the ground, the tree will break through. Well, you must have the same kind of faith in your bamboo tree, whether it is to run a successful business, win a Pulitzer Prize, raise well-adjusted children, or what have you. You must have faith that if you keep making the calls, honing your craft, reading to your children, reaching out to your spouse or asking for donations, that you too will see rapid growth in the future. This is the hard part for most of us. We get so excited about the idea that’s been planted inside of us that we simply can’t wait for it to blossom. Therefore, within days or weeks of the initial planting, we become discouraged and begin to second guess ourselves. Sometimes, in our doubt, we dig up our seed and plant it elsewhere, in hopes that it will quickly rise in more fertile ground. We see this very often in people who change jobs every year or so. We also see it in people who change churches, organizations and even spouses in the pursuit of greener pastures. More often than not, these people are greatly disappointed when their tree doesn’t grow any faster in the new location. Other times, people will water the ground for a time but then, quickly become discouraged. They start to wonder if it’s worth all of the effort. This is particularly true when they see their neighbors having success with other trees. They start to think, “What am I doing trying to grow a bamboo tree? If I had planted a lemon tree, I’d have a few lemons by now.” These are the people who return to their old jobs and their old ways. They walk away from their dream in exchange for a “sure thing.” Sadly, what they fail to realize is that pursuing your dream is a sure thing if you just don’t give up. So long as you keep watering and fertilizing your dream, it will come to fruition. It may take weeks. It may take months. It may even take years, but eventually, the roots will take hold and your tree will grow. And when it does, it will grow in remarkable ways. We’ve seen this happen so many times. Henry Ford had to water his bamboo tree through five business failures before he finally succeeded with the Ford Motor Company. Richard Hooker had to water his bamboo tree for seven years and through 21 rejections by publishers until his humorous war novel, M*A*S*H became a runaway bestseller, spawning a movie and one of the longest-running television series of all-time. Another great bamboo grower was the legendary jockey Eddie Arcaro. Arcaro lost his first 250 races as a jockey before going on to win 17 Triple Crown races and 554 stakes races for total purse earnings of more than $30 million. Well, you have a bamboo tree inside of you just waiting to break through. So keep watering and believing and you too will be flying high before you know it.

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Chinese man kill himself after girlfriend won't stop shopping

A Chinese man jumped seven stories to his death after eyewitnesses said his girlfriend refused to stop shopping. Tao Hsiao, 38, had been shopping with his girlfriend at the Golden Eagle International Shopping Center in Xuzhou, China, when she asked to go to one more shoe store, according to Gawker. The pair had been browsing the stores for five hours.

That's when, police say, Tao reached his limit. "He told her she already had enough shoes, more shoes that she could wear in a lifetime and it was pointless buying any more," an eyewitness said,according to the Daily Mail. "She started shouting at him accusing him of being a skinflint and of spoiling Christmas. It was a really heated argument." The fight ended when Tao tossed the pair's shopping bags and jumped over a balcony, smashing into Christmas decorations before hitting the floor below, Chinese news site Hexun.com reported. Tao was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured. No word yet on the girlfriend's reaction. Or whether she went to that last shoe store

Mandela's remains transferred to air base

THE remains of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela have been transferred to Waterkloof air base for a farewell from the African National Congress.

The military handed over Mandela's flag-draped coffin to the African National Congress (ANC) at a solemn ceremony broadcast live on South African television. The remains were to be returned to military control later on Saturday. It will then be flown to the Eastern Cape in preparation for Mandela's funeral the following day. Mandela's casket is expected to arrive on Saturday afternoon and to be greeted by a full military ceremony. The late president died just over a week ago at age 95. His body lay in state for three days this week, drawing huge crowds of South Africans who mourned his death and celebrated his successful struggle against apartheid.