Once upon a time, not so long ago lived a woman with long raven hair and big brown eyes that had a barn yard filled with chickens. One day in the woman’s travels she came across an injured eaglet. The eaglet had been injured and was frightened and alone. The lady took the eaglet home and cared for it as best as she knew how. The woman was in awe of the eaglet’s strength and courage to survive; however, she just did not know how to properly care for the eaglet. Afterall she had only cared for chickens, and an eagle required much more detail and precision care. The woman did the only thing she knew to do and put the eaglet in the barnyard with the chickens.
The eaglet watched over the other birds in the barnyard. They acted as most chickens do. They strutted their chicken stuff, cackled their chicken sounds, and jerked their necks in the way only chickens can as they pecked for corn, grain and other assorted garbage from the ground. All day long they strutted, cackled and pecked. From time to time they would gather in bunches and cackle more rudely if something displeased them. Otherwise, their little chicken lives followed a rather mindless routine.
The eaglet tried it’s best to fit into the group but she was bigger than the other birds and appeared to be ackward, because no matter how hard she tried to strut like the others and jerk her neck… she “ALWAYS” did it wrong.
The others laughed and ridiculed the eaglet. “Look at her…who does she think she is? She’s strange…she’s weird…she’s a FREAK!” These words made the “strange bird” sad and caused her to cry a great deal.
One day a sage lady with much love and kindness came across the eaglet and immediately noticed something special bout the bird and started to talk to her. “What are you doing in the barnyard with the chickens?” she asked the eaglet.
The eaglet replied, “I live here, but I don’t feel like I belong here!”, replied the eaglet. “I am so sad.”
“It’s no wonder you’re sad.” “You don’t belong here YOU my dear are an EAGLE!!! Why don’t you fly away and leave this place?”the lady answered in a calming voice.
“FLY??? I don’t know how to fly!!” replied the strange bird that was really and EAGLE.
“It’s simple, replied the lady, “You just flap your wings and take to the sky.”
So the next day and for three years thereafter the eagle flapped her wings and tried to become airborne, but, it didn’t work. Now matter how hard the eagle flapped her wings she could not get off the ground for more than a few feet at the time. The eagle felt she was doomed to strut around the barn and eat scraps for the rest of her life. She was sad.
One day the sage lady asked, “Why are you still among the chickens?”
“I flapped my wings like you told me but nothing happened. I’ll never be able to fly!”, replied the eagle.
“Nonsense!!!” said the lady, “Show me what you have been doing!”
So the eagle did her chicken walk and flapped her wings wildly and the lady chuckled in exasperation. “I see what the problem is, YOU are an eagle….you have to look UP!” , she exlaimed! “You’re destined for the mountain, not this lowly barnyard. Raise your head and fly toward the heavens and the sun. Stretch your wings and let the wind lift you!”
And so the eagle did as she was told. She lifted her head and looked toward the sun. It warmed her, yet frightened her, but she kept looking up in spite of her fear. Then she began to flap her wings.
ONE…TWO…THREE times and suddenly she soared up into the heavens, past the tree tops up to a mountain top where she perched on a majestic peak and scanned the world with her keen eyes and loving spirit.
The End~
Teresa Dunn
The moral of the story is if we strut around all our lives trying to be what everyone else says we should be, we will never get the chance to fly….
how many times has someone said that to me “just who do you think you are?” such a spirit crushing question when asked in that tone of voice all of us have heard at one time or another, when ever we deemed to be different, The question I have asked my whole life is when did different become synonimous with wrong?
My hearts cry for so very long was just that, I am different not bad, not wrong, just different… why can’t I still be loved and accepted…I am still different… but today I am comfortable soaring above… no longer do I need the acceptance from the “chickens” in my life… the funny thing is though… when I stopped needing it, when I stopped wanting it and accepted that I would never have it… thats when I began to start to receive it…and though now it may be nice, its just not important… and still I soar ever higher…and usually alone
You are never alone… just look over and you will see another Eagle saying hello 😉
Don’t you get tired of being surrounded by us chickens? 😛
J/K, Pal. FLY, FLY, FLY!
You are crazy lady… I left the chicken coop 😉