If you knew how powerful and awesome you are by default and design, you would embrace your awesomeness and magnificence. I don’t blame you for forgetting who you are once in a while; we all forget sometimes. What you are going through right now is a moment in time and will pass like everything before it. You are specially made to withstand anything that comes your way; don’t lose yourself in dealing with life’s challenges and vicissitudes. You are not hopeless even though it might feel like that right now, you have agency to change the course of your life.
You give away your power when you stay in toxic relationships because of the fear of loneliness, when you stay in a draining job because of your fear of unemployment, and when you keep going to where you are tolerated instead of celebrated. You are a lion who now behaves like a cat, an eagle who flocks like chickens, and an extraordinary human who follows the herd. As Ralph Waldo Emerson beautifully puts it:
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
Clinical psychologist and author Thema Bryant Ph.D., begins her book, Homecoming: Overcome Fear And Trauma To Reclaim Your Whole, Authentic Self 1, with a West African parable about an eagle who lived among chickens and, in the process, forgot his powers:
In West Africa, the story is told of an animal expert. This expert knew every animal in the bush. In America, you say forest, but the real word is bush. One day, as this expert was walking, he passed a farm. In the back of the farm, he saw so so[*] chickens, and in the middle of the chickens was an eagle. The man was vexed to see the eagle acting like a chicken. He went to the front of the farm and knocked on the farmer’s door.
He said, “Bop bop.” In America you say knock, knock, but the real sound is bop bop. The man inside said, “Who that?” The man outside said, “That me. You must open the door and see.”
The farmer opened the door and said, “What’s your business here?” The man outside said, “I’m an animal expert, and I see that behind your farm, you have so so chickens, but in the middle is one eagle.
The farmer said, “No, I don’t have any eagles. Only chickens.” The expert said, “Let me show you.”
They walked to the back of the farm, and the expert picked up the eagle and said, “Listen to me. You’re an eagle. You can fly. They’re chickens. They can’t fly. So go now and fly.
The eagle looked at the man and then looked down at his chicken brothers and sisters eating their chicken food. He hopped off the man’s arm and started eating the food. The farmer laughed at the expert and said, “I told you. I don’t have any eagles.” The expert was shamed and vexed. He said, “I’m coming to go.”
He left the farm. The next day he came back so early in the morning that God was not awake yet. He knocked at the farmer’s door. The farmer was frustrated but let him in. He walked to the back of the farm and picked up the eagle. He climbed on top of the barn. He told the eagle, “All your life people have treated you like chicken. They taught you to talk like chicken but you’re not a chicken. You’re an eagle. You can fly now, so fly.”
At that moment the sun started to rise. The animal expert said, “You see how far that sun is? You can go there. Now fly.” The eagle thought, “This man will come bother me every day until I try this thing, so let me try.” He stretched his wings, and my people, you have never seen such a beautiful sight. The eagle flew toward the sun, and the farmer never saw him again.”
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” – Albert Einstein
Like the eagle in the above story stuck among chickens, most of us live our lives in autopilot due to domestication. We are programmed, indoctrinated and domesticated just as the baby elephant in a circus is tamed. We continuously live among chickens, not making waves, forgetting how powerful we are; we forget that we have wings and can fly. We settle for less than we can achieve and gradually forget how great we are. Our domestication starts from childhood, and it is what makes an eagle forget that it has wings and lets a human being forget its potential, all in the name of becoming an adult; it is what makes a lion believe it is a cat.
Meditations
Daily Calm with Tamara Levitt – Anxiety
Our anxious thoughts are often exaggerated fears, and we never really know how life would evolve. Our biggest fears rarely manifest, they are always steps that can be taken and although not all answers occur immediately, with time they will come. When we experience anxiety, we are often swept away with negative thoughts of the future, and this leads to emotional responses like fear, sadness or anger as well as behavioural responses like avoiding situations or lashing out reactively.
It is hard to problem-solve when we are swept away by an anxious mind. Anxiety can be a teacher, so we want to hear what it has to say and tend to it gently so it doesn’t overwhelm us. Mindfulness offers us the opportunity to listen to anxiety and respond to it more skillfully. When we hear what our anxiety has to say in a safe place or mind, we can offer it reassurance and release it.
“The things that trouble our spirits are within us already. In meditation we must face them, accept them, and set them aside one by one” —Christopher L. Bennett
Daily Jay with Jay Shetty – Self-Perception
Our habits, routines and behaviours can shape how we see ourselves. As we go through the world, we face all kinds of choices; each one has the potential to move us closer to or farther from our goals or the person we aspire to be. Sometimes, those decisions are easy, and sometimes, they are not. If we can pause and conjure a positive self-perception, it can change our behaviour. It can open us to engage intentionally and take actions that align with who we are and would like to be. When you feel stuck and are unsure of how to move forward, try conjuring the best version of yourself. Then, allow that person to point the way.
Daily Trip with Jeff Warren – Shake It Off
Podcast
- Neuroscientist: “I’ll Tell You What I Do!” Do THIS Every Morning to MAXIMIZE Manifestation! Dr. Doty
All the best in your quest to get better. Don’t Settle: Live with Passion
