From the cozy, comfortable warmth of a mother’s nest, when the little bird spreads its wings to take a flight in the open sky- to fulfill the long cherished dream of proving herself, to enjoy the vastness of the sky and the freedom that awaits her- to discover the world…her excitement is out of bounds…
Every moment spent in the nest appears as a moment of captivity; she is desperate to join the league of grown up birds- and waits for the day of her first flight.
But as the moment draws nearer- the excitement turns into nervousness—she had practiced the flight earlier- but that was in her parents’ safe supervision, where she took off from the green grass, and even if she felt down- she would land safely. But today the risk was bigger—she had no idea of the stretch of sky, if she managed to balance well, she could fly to the extents beyond her imagination; but if something went wrong, she might fall- this time, the height would be more- much more than she could visualize. There was no green grass to act as a cushion-she could get injured, or worse- could never fly again and be bounded back in the nest forever!!
Life is all about taking risks—if you don’t risk it, you won’t get the biscuit.
With trembling legs, she spreads her wings, slowly, cautiously, putting all the efforts not to let the wild gush of air shake her balance, or confidence. “Go slow” her beloved ones shout from the nest—but to stay in the air, demands constant flapping of wings—it’s too fast—too furious. Slowly, the bird adapts to the air pressure and then notices the other birds flying around—some flying a level higher, confident because of years of experience, others, the newbie like her, were struggling too..
She starts to enjoy the new life she had earned, wishes to explore the limits of the sky, people said it was impossible to cover the vastness of sky. She could do that- she would do that!!
She meets an unknown bird- it didn’t look like any other bird she had seen. this bird was black, it was different—the novice little bird tries to recall how her mother had described about other birds called crows, pigeons , owls, vultures, nightingales, mynah and the rest. All were considered birds- but were different from each other.
The little bird was confused about the black bird, and decided to ignore it…suddenly, the black bird comes closer—little bird gets scared, it could be dangerous to interact with unknown species. Maybe it was the fear of rejection-or disapproval!!Whatever it was-She was curious, yet constrained by her own inhibitions. Surprisingly, the black bird initiates the talk-and advises the little bird to change the direction of flight, as the way ahead could be dangerous and there was a storm. Doubtful, confused, the little bird stares up in the sky, everyone appeared to change the direction, even the experienced flyers were diverting.maybe the black bird was right.
The little bird decided to follow the crowd- and move in the safe direction. She felt confident now. The black bird was not dangerous, it could be befriended, later she discovered that the bird was a pigeon.
When another black bird came closer, this time the little bird didn’t feel scared-the black species were good. She had trusted them before- she could trust them now.
since she had opted for the safe path, she enjoyed the smooth flight, though she often dreamt of herself in the storm- how she missed the opportunity to prove herself, she didn’t accept the challenge, and was now starting to get bored of the monotonous flight. She no longer found the views of earth attractive, she missed her nest. She had seen so much of the world, had so much to tell, but her beloved ones were left behind, she knew they were still in the nest, waiting for her to return. She was lost in the thoughts, feeling lonely in a sky full of birds.
All of a sudden, something happened and she lost her balance. She was heading down to the ground; she had never expected this change in her life. She did not know how to save herself.
Suddenly someone supported her, and helped her regain balance.
She was shocked to see her mother, who was supposed to be in the nest.
“I knew you would fall, the second black bird was a crow, who had been following you since you chose this easy path, it noticed every detail about you, figured out your weakness, and knew that you were losing the focus-you flew here, but missed the stormy and challenging sky, you undervalued the challenges here, and ignored the serene beauty that this path had to offer. The crow used the opportunity to knock you down.”
“But, mom, how did you find me?” the little bird asked.
The mom smiled, “I was around you all the time, but my experience made me confident to fly a level higher than you. I had been noticing your journey throughout, to see how you deal with pigeon and the crow. You had heard them in theory, but could you recognize them in practical as well? I wanted to see how well you could manage on the first day of your flight.”
“Then why did you not warn me about the crow? Or meet me when I was missing you? ” the little bird got upset.
“Because anything that comes for free, has no value. I wanted you to learn the lessons, to develop an understanding, so that you too gain experience” mom smiled back and took a leap to go back to the higher level in the sky.
The little bird was alone again, but suddenly when she looked below- she did not see the ground anymore.
This time, she saw the younger birds, which had just started their first flight.
She felt elevated.
She too had gone one level up in the sky, she had realized why it was difficult to cover the entire sky- because there were both crows and pigeons, which would help you, or would try to pull you down.
This is how you learn from life, and raise up to a higher level of experience.
Life is challenging, but the experience and satisfaction of flight makes it worth living.
Live it!! Like it!!
p.s—this post makes no sense even to me, was just a random scribble of thoughts on entering a new corporate phase of my life.so if you don’t like it..i don’t blame you! Feedback shall be welcomed..
