Do you remember this tale?
A certain man went through the forest looking for birds that he could add to his domestic possessions. He found a young eagle, brought it home and put it among his chickens and ducks. Even though it was an eagle – the king of birds – he fed it with mere chicken-feed and treated it just as any other member of his poultry.
Five years later, a naturalist happened to come to his house. When he went to see the poultry, he was shocked to find an eagle among the chickens, oblivious of its nature, strength and the opportunity for the freedom to be gained by the mere flapping of its wings. He pointed this out to the owner and said:
But the owner would not give up his point of view either. So they agreed to test it. The naturalist picked up the eagle, held it high and spoke to it with great intensity: ‘Eagle, Oh! King of the sky, you belong to the high heavens. You were born to fly high and not merely to exist in passivity in this cock-pen. Stretch forth your wings and fly. The sky is your abode. The sky is your limit.’
The owner reminded the naturalist, ‘I told you it was a chicken! ‘No,’ said the naturalist. ‘It is an eagle. It has the heart of an eagle and I will make it soar high up to the heavens. Let us give it another chance tomorrow.’
The next morning the naturalist woke up early and took the eagle outside the city, away from the houses, to the foot of the high mountain. The sun was rising, illuminating the top of the mountain with gold and all of creation glittered in the joy of the morning glory.
He picked up the eagle and spoke to it in his most inspiring tone: ‘Eagle, Oh! King of birds, you are an Eagle. You belong to the sky and not this earth. Your nature is to fly high. Your purpose is to rule. Your limit is the depth of the sky itself. Stretch your wings and fly.’
The eagle looked around and began to tremble as if a new life was coming to it. But it did not fly. The naturalist then made it look straight into the shining, bright sun. Suddenly, as if jolted by the shock, the eagle stretched forth its wings and with a screech, mounted higher and higher into the sky, never to return to the earth and be content living with chickens.
It was an eagle, though it had been tamed and trained to remain as a mere chicken.
My friend, just like the eagle that was content being a mere chicken because he was subjected to that kind of life for years, I do not care what kind of pauperising, failure or mediocre life you may have been subjected to by governments, parents, friends, jobs, religious bodies or any of life’s demeaning circumstances, I dare to call you royalty because you are one. All you need is a change in mind-set and a clearer and deeper understanding of who you are.
“You are very special, loaded with great potentials and expected to make significant impact on others. You are more than one-in-a-million; you are one in 6.5 billion”
