The Eagle and the Chicken

Once upon a time, there was a large mountainside, where an eagle's nest rested. The eagle's nest contained four large eagle eggs. One day an earthquake rocked the mountain causing one of the eggs to roll down the mountain, to a chicken farm, located in the valley below. The chickens knew that they must protect and care for the eagle's egg, so an old hen volunteered to nurture and raise the large egg. One day, the egg hatched and a beautiful eagle was born, but the eagle was raised to be a chicken. Soon, the eagle believed he was nothing more than a chicken. 

The eagle loved his home and family, but his spirit cried out for more. While playing a game on the farm one day, the eagle looked to the skies above and noticed a group of mighty eagles soaring in the skies. "Oh," the eagle cried, "I wish I could soar like those birds." The chickens roared with laughter, "You cannot soar with those birds. You are a chicken and chickens do not soar." 

The eagle continued staring, at his real family up above, dreaming that he could be with them. Each time the eagle would let his dreams be known, he was told it couldn't be done. That is what the eagle learned to believe. The eagle, after time, stopped dreaming and continued to live his life like a chicken. Finally, after a long life as a chicken, the eagle passed away. 

The moral of the story: You become what you believe you are; so if you ever dream to become an eagle follow your dreams, not the words of a chicken.

--Unknown-- 

The reading above  is one of my favorite little parables. I often use it with my clients to help motivated them to follow their dreams. I know how the eagle felt because for most of my adult life, I was just like him. I believed everything that  others said, but did not believe in myself.  I allowed them to dictate who I was and what I could accomplish.  I never dared try to follow any of my dreams for fear that I would fail...so, much like the eagle, I stood with my feet on the ground with the chicken as I watched the eagles soar, always dreaming, always wishing, but never really knowing that I, too, could soar.  And all I had to do was start believing in myself.   Easier said than done when you have been verbally beaten down for most of your life, but I am so proud to say that finally, around  the age of 50, I came into my own (Better late than never)....and left  behind those that only had negative thoughts for me, those who held me down.  

Far too often we let ourselves be defined by what other people tell us.  Foolishly, we allow them to determine our self-worth and  dictate how far we go in life.  We fail to realize that if we are ever able to live our full potential, we must first believe that we were born to be more than we are and believe it with such a strong conviction that we reach out and follow our dreams...no matter how often they are ridiculed or how often we stumble. For it is in the act of following one's dreams that your potential will be realized.

 

The worst thing that could happen in our lives  is to one day wake up and realize that it is too late, that we have been held back from our dreams because we were too afraid to lift ourselves out of the chicken coop and from the small thinking people, who, although they might mean well, can only see possibilities through their limitations and not from your possibilities.

If you can imagine it you can create it.
If you can dream it, you can become it.

-William Arthur Ward-