Even Eagles Need a Push

"The eagle gently coaxed her offspring toward the edge of the nest. Her heart quivered with conflicting emotions as she felt their resistance to her persistent nudging. “Why does the thrill of soaring have to begin with the fear of falling?” she thought. This ageless question was still unanswered for her.

As in tradition of the species, her nest was located high on the shelf of a sheer rock face. Below there was nothing but air to support the wings of each child. “Is it possible that this time it will not work?” she thought. Despite her fears, the eagle knew it was time, her parental mission was all but complete. There remained one final task – THE PUSH.

The eagle drew courage from an innate wisdom. Until her children discovered their wings, there was no purpose for their lives outside the nest. Until they learned to soar, they would fail to understand the privilege it was to have been born an eagle. The push was the greatest gift she had to offer. It was her supreme act of love. And so, one by one, she pushed them and they flew.

We must remember that success begins when we understand that life is about growing; it is about acquiring the knowledge and skills we need to live more fully and effectively."

Isn't it funny the lessons we learn about life from animals? I wonder if it's because they don't play into the fear and games humans do. Animals don't try to out dress each other, they don't worry about the "haves" and "have not's", they simply exist. How do we learn to live more fully and effectively.

There is a book by David McNally called - Even Eagles Need a Push: Learning to Soar in a Changing World. The premise is pretty much the same as the story above....it's about learning to find the meaning and purpose of your own life. It talks about events that happen in our own lives that push us to higher levels both personally and professionally. No eagle is born an eagle, we have to push ourselves to higher levels and it's a hard long road. It gives me some sort of comfort to know that people, even accomplished, successful people have struggled along the same path/road and persevered and found their passion.

Like an eagle, we must continue on our path, leaping and expecting the net to appear.