I’m on holiday right now, enjoying some welcome respite with my beloved and two sons. As the Southwest desert heat sores to a miserable level this time of year, I—as well as many other Southwest dwellers—find some way to escape it, as we anxiously await the July, August and early September monsoon rains that nourish our parched home and bring relief to our lives.
We did get a wonderful, early monsoon prelude last Monday, though, when an unexpected thunderstorm cooled the temperature and lightened our hearts. We’re hoping this year’s monsoon bring s much moisture.
The Lazy Eagle—
I did want to share with you this parable an acquaintance sent me a few months ago. As you read it, think about how much like the lazy eagle you might be right now in your life.
“The king of a village was gifted two small beautiful eagles by one of his assistants. The two eagles were immediately handed to a very well-known trainee to teach them the art of soaring very high, and several months later, the trainee came back to the king and said, “One of the eagles is now soaring very high in the sky, while the other one still sits on the branch of a large oak tree and never leaves the tree.”
The King called all birds’ specialists in the village to coax the eagle to leave the branch, but none of them succeeded. Then, an idea came to his mind to seek the advice of a wise man who lived in the far corner of the village. The next morning, the king saw the eagle flying happily, and when he asked the wise man what he did to make the eagle fly, the man said, “I simply broke the branch where the eagle has been sitting.”
– We find ourselves sitting on the branches of fear, hesitation, and unwilling to change in just the same way. Unless we break such negative branches within us, we’ll never discover the tremendous energy that enables us to soar very high in the open sky of success.
Meditations—
Are you like this eagle right now, fearful, hesitant and unwilling to change to make your life better, prosperous or more fulfilling?
Does anger, pain, past hurts, or self-doubt hamper your courage or focus, holding you back from achieving your God-given potential?
Remedies—
Take some time to get out of your regular (comfortable or stuck) element, to think, to day dream, to make notes about what you’d like to accomplish, and why you think you haven’t, can’t or won’t. Jot down your thoughts. Keep them simple. Become more self-aware. As we move forward this summer, we’ll do more exploring on how we can overcome our lazy eagle habits and mindset and get off that branch we’ve attached ourselves to!
But next Monday I’ll be winging my way back home, so Meditation Mondays will pick up again July 1.
Until then,
Enjoy your first official days of summer!
Andrea
“Certainly there was an Eden….We all long for it, and we are constantly glimpsing it.” —J.R.R. Tolkien