Consider the story of the eagle who thought he was a chicken…
A naturalist was visiting a farmer one day and was surprised to see a beautiful eagle in the farmer’s chicken coop. "Why in the world have you got this eagle living in with the chickens?"
"Well,” answered the farmer, “I found him when he was little and raised him in there with the chickens. He doesn’t know any better, he thinks he is a chicken."
The naturalist was dumbfounded. The eagle was pecking the grain and drinking from the watering can. The eagle kept his eyes on the ground and strutted around in circles, looking every inch a big, over-sized chicken. "Doesn’t he ever try to spread his wings and fly out of there?" asked the naturalist.
"No, said the farmer, and I doubt he ever will, he doesn’t know what it means to fly."
The naturalist persuaded the farmer to let him take the eagle out and do a few experiments with him, even though the farmer made it clear he thought the naturalist was wasting his time.
First, the naturalist lifted the bird to the top of the chicken coop fence and said "Fly!" He pushed the reluctant bird off the fence and it fell to the ground in a pile of dusty feathers. Next, the undaunted researcher took the ruffled eagle to the farmer’s hay loft and spread its wings before tossing it high in the air with the command "FLY!" The frightened bird shrieked and fell ungraciously to the barn-yard where it resumed pecking the ground in search of its dinner. The naturalist again picked up the eagle and decided to give it one more chance in a more appropriate environment, away from the bad examples of chicken lifestyle.
He set the docile bird on the front seat of his pickup truck and headed for the highest butte in the country. After a lengthy and sweaty climb to the crest, with the bird tucked under his arm, he spoke gently to the golden bird. "Friend, you were born to soar. It is better that you die here today on the rocks below than live the rest of your life being a chicken in a pen, gawked at and out of your element."
Having said these final words, he lifted the eagle up and once more commanded it to "FLY!" He tossed it out in space and this time, much to his relief, the eagle opened his seven-foot wingspan and flew gracefully into the sky. It slowly climbed in ever higher spirals, riding unseen thermals of hot air until it disappeared into the glare of the morning sun.
So, who do you think you are? Are you living life true to yourself? Or, are you living life based on the perceptions, expectations, beliefs, and/or desires of others? This story is a wonderful parable for how we live life unaware of who we really are, and instead settle for living life based on the lives we see others leading, or worse, what others want us to be.
Thankfully it doesn’t have to take a life-threatening situation like a push off a cliff to make us realize who we are, our true desires, or our calling in life. It just takes awareness and a little detective work, and our upcoming tele-training event is just the thing to get you started! We would love to introduce you to someone truly amazing…The real YOU!
Self-Aware: Discover the Real You
Monday, May 9, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. (CST)
The Soulspring Tele-Classroom*
It’s FREE*! We invite you to be our guest!
*Long distance phone charges apply where applicable.
You will receive your tele-classroom access code and training materials via email prior to the training call.
Kim,
Soulspiration of the Week:
“Only by much searching and mining are gold and diamonds obtained, and man can find every truth connected with his being if he will dig deep into the mine of his soul.” ~James Allen
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