How to fly.

Oh, "How I wish I was able to do that." This is something that people who are involved in the creative arts of any kind can hear said. The other thing they hear is the words, "I do not have any talent."

Without fail I find myself saying the same thing every time, "Have you tried?" Because it is often the case that people who declare they cannot do something have never tried, or they have at some time in the past made a tentative try and decided very quickly they cannot do something. 

Once upon a time, there was a king who had gone to visit a neighbouring town. He was gifted a pair of baby Macaw Parrots by a man who kept birds where he was visiting. They were the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. So, upon returning home, he called for a bird trainer and asked him to train the two macaw parrots.

The king also arranged a place in the garden for the parrots. He often looked at them from his window. As time passed, the trainer came and informed the king that though one of the parrots was flying majestically high in the sky, the other one had not moved from its branch since the day it had arrived.

Hearing this, the king summoned other trainers and bird keepers from near and far. They all tried their best, but couldn’t make the parrot fly! He even asked his courtiers to try to find a way to make the parrot fly but they all failed. The parrot was not for moving from his branch. 

Finally, after trying everything, the king thought that maybe he needed someone more familiar with natural habitat. He asked his courtier to get a farmer from the countryside and take him to the parrot to see if he could understand the problem with the parrot.

The next morning, the king was thrilled to see the parrot flying high above the gardens. He asked his servant to call the farmer. The servant quickly went and located the farmer, who came and stood before the king. The king asked him, “How did you make the parrot fly?”

With his hands folded with respect, the farmer said to the king, “It was very easy, your majesty. I simply cut the branch where the bird was sitting.”

 We are all able to achieve, but fail to gather the courage which is required to reach heights of success and end up clinging to the things that are familiar to us. We need to free ourselves from our comfort zone to explore new opportunities and find success beyond what we believe to be our ability.

Have a great day.