Be Positive

The old man found the boy sitting on the steps of the temple, staring at his phone.

“You look like someone searching for something,” he said, lowering himself down slowly.

The boy glanced up. “Everyone says I should find my purpose. Like it’s a thing I’m supposed to catch.”

The old man nodded. He picked up a small twig and placed it on the stone step between them.

“In my village, we had a well. Deepest one for miles. My grandfather dug it when he was young. By the time I knew him, he could no longer carry water. But he would sit beside it every morning, just watching people come and go.”

He paused.

“One day I asked him: Why did you dig a well you cannot drink from anymore?”

The boy waited.

“He said: I did not dig it so I could drink. I dug it so my village would never be thirsty.”

The old man stood, brushing dust from his knees.

“Purpose is not a prize you catch. It is a well you dig. Some wells you drink from yourself. Some your children drink from. Some you will never taste, but the water will still be sweet.