“It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.” Alan Cohen

A naturalist was visiting a farmer one day and was surprised to see an eagle in the farmer’s chicken coop. “Why is this eagle living here with the chickens,” asked the naturalist?

“Well, answered the farmer, I found it when it was little and raised it here with my chickens. It doesn’t know any better, and now it thinks its a chicken.”

The amazed naturalist watched as the eagle strutted around in circles with its eyes downward pecking for grain. Indeed by the bird’s actions it looked every inch to be a large over-sized chicken.

“Doesn’t it ever try to spread his wings and fly out of there?” asked the naturalist.

“No, said the farmer, and I doubt it ever will, it doesn’t know how to fly.”

“Let me take it out and do a few experiments with it,” suggested the naturalist. The farmer agreed, but assured the naturalist that he would only be wasting his time because even though the bird had been born and eagle, it clearly was a chicken now.

The naturalist lifted the bird to the top of the chicken coop fence and said, “You are an eagle not a chicken, you belong to the sky!” As the eagle stretched its wings out wide, it saw the chickens scratching amongst the kitchen scraps and jumped down to the ground to join them.

Undaunted the naturalist took the ruffled bird to the top of the farmer’s hay loft. Pointing the eagle towards the sky he said, “You are an eagle not a chicken, you belong to the sky!” Once more the eagle stretched out its wings, but then slithered down the roof to land back amongst the chickens.

“See, I told you it was a chicken now,” roared the farmer with laughter.

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 a chicken lifestyle. He set the docile bird on the front seat of his pickup truck next to him as he and the farmer headed for the highest butte in the country.

After a lengthy and sweaty climb to the crest of the butte with the bird tucked under his arm, the naturalist spoke gently to the golden bird. “Eagle, Oh Mighty Eagle, you were born to soar in the skies. 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.”

Having said these final words, he lifted the eagle up and commanded it to “FLY!” He tossed it out in space and this time, the eagle opened its 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.

Turning to the surprised farmer the naturalist said, “I never doubted because it was an eagle and belonged to the sky!”

The moral of this story should be obvious, never let anyone else define your self-worth or keep you under their limiting and oppressive influence. For just as the eagle, it only takes a little courage to achieve your potential, just open your wings and step off.

Author UnknownÂ