There was once a horrible drought. Year after year not a drop of rain fell on the arid ground. Crops died, and, as the land became parched, farmers gave up even planting their seeds. As the time of planting and tilling the ground came for the fourth rainless year in a row, the farmers of the region had given up hope and they sat listless, passing their time with playing cards and other distractions. However, one lone farmer continued patiently to plant his seeds and sow and till his land. The other farmers poked fun at him and derided him as he continued daily to take care of his fruitless, barren land. When they asked him the reason behind his senseless tenacity, he said, i am a farmer and it is my dharma to plant and till my land. My dharma does not change simply due to whether the clouds rain or not. My dharma is my dharma and I must follow it regardless of how fruitful or fruitless it appears to be. The other farmers laughed at his wasteful effort, and went back to their homes to continue bemoaning the rainless sky and their fruitless land. However, a passing rain cloud happened to be overhead when the faithful farmer was giving his answer to the others. The cloud heard the farmer’s beautiful words and realized, he’s right. It is his dharma to plant the seeds and to till the land, and it is my dharma to release this water which I am holding in my cloud onto the ground. At that moment, inspired by the farmer’s message, the cloud released all the water it was holding onto the farmer’s land. This rain cloud then continued to spread the message of upholding one’s dharma to the other rain clouds, and they too upon realizing it was their dharma to rain began to let go of the moisture in their midst. Soon, rain was pouring down upon the land and the farmer’s harvest was bountiful. In life, we tend to expect results from our actions. If we do something well, we want to be rewarded. If we work, we want to be paid (whether financially or in some other way).we want to work only so long as the work reaps rewards. If the fruits cease to come, we decide the work is not meant to be done and we abandon it.