The Problem
Old eagle Frank flies with
drooped wings and withered might
Even the gentle touch of zephyr resonates
Sending ripples of pain throughout his body
He vens direly for his once zaftig body
Now a bundle of old bones and feathers
It is time to kowtow to the ruthless time
For he is at the fag end of forty erstwhile years
His claws no longer swiftly grip the fish from the pond
His failing eyesight cannot trace a frail snake or rat from a pinnacle
His carefree sky-bound high- altitude endeavours
Are now limited to a low flight for survival
Trapped in the squelching chains of old age
Tired of being hungry and sick
He decides he had enough of this ruthless mockery of life
And accedes to dive to his own death to put an end to this dismay
Survival of the fittest
He plunges from a cliff, his wings folded
Disconsolate about his wunderkind achievements
Just then he sees on the top of a tree
His old friend Raphael, looking young and happy
Relishing a fish fresh from a pond
There he sits with all his youthful charm
Out Frank stretches his wings and forces himself
To fly to his youthful friend perhaps too older than him
Asks he to the young looking eagle
How do you look so strong and juvenile?
Smiled Raphael, said my friend we are eagles after all
We live our lives in the same patterns for years
Hunting and surviving – exhausting our resources and means
And after completion of forty years, we get our youth back
You will have to toil hard, bear the pain for 90 long days – change everything that you are
And out shall come a new you – young and smart
Ideas for Action: Breaking Through
So Frank toiled hard for the next 90 days
He went to a remote place far up in the hills
He pulled out one claw a day and his feathers with his beak
Blood oozed out of his wounded body
He then allowed his new toes and plumage to grow back
Then he hit his beak on the rocks
Allowed it to break off and bore silently all its pain
Out grew a new beak in a matter of few days
Now, Frank is no longer an old eagle
Who grew tired of his old body and was plunging to his death
We are no eagles, we have no second lives
Yet like them, if we try really hard
We can break out of our old bad habits – and be a new person
It is not inscrutable – to work hard and break free from our comfort confines
To bring in new patterns of positive behaviour and conquer our erroneous zones
After all, it is all about making a decision and putting it into action
On a didactic note like Frank we can rejuvenate our existing lives
We can shed our apprehensions, prejudices and off beam behaviour
We can kill our habits that seek no congruence with the good human beings that we are
We can try to adjust and don a renewed “US” to survive
The world doesn’t see us the way we are, it sees us the way it wants to
So let go of your old behavioural patterns and embrace new progressive changes
Always remember it is never too late and difficult – Nothing is ever impossible
Because, even impossible says I M Possible
- By Me!
