Long ago,
there lived a king in Persia who was much loved by his subjects. The kingdom
was once visited by a wise man. He presented the king with two falcons and said
to the king, “These birds have been trained to fly for long distances, deliver
messages and return. Consider them as my gift to you, oh beloved king!”
The king was
delighted. He rushed down to the stables the next day, to see the falcons fly.
But alas, while one falcon soared in the sky with its wings outstretched
in a majestic fashion, the other falcon simply refused to move. Whatever the trainer
tried, the falcon refused to budge.
Now, the
king was unhappy. The next day, he called in the best falcon trainers in the
kingdom. Their end goal was supposedly simple – “You have to get the second
falcon to fly”. They tried for a whole week and failed.
The king
grew more desperate. He could not fathom the reason why the second falcon
wouldn’t fly. He called in the best medicine men in the kingdom to examine the
bird for any injuries. After two weeks, the medicine men concluded that there
was nothing wrong with the bird. The falcon refused to fly, apparently out of
its own free will.
Over the
course of the next month, nearly everything was tried. The falcon was not given
food. The falcon was made to overeat. Specially prepared gels and ointments
were applied on its wings. None of the measures yielded any results. The falcon
still sat doggedly on a tree by the stable with its wings folded and tucked-in.
It simply refused to fly.
In one final
desperate move, the king made an announcement calling for ‘anybody’ who can get
the falcon to fly, promising a handsome reward for the man/woman who could do
it.
Upon seeing
the advertisement, a simpleton farmer came to the king’s court the next day.
This farmer proclaimed that he could get the falcon to fly and asked for a
chance to see the bird. The king was surprised; the most experienced zoo
keepers, wisest doctors and expert bird trainers had tried to get the falcon to
fly and failed. And this simple farmer was so confident about
getting the task done.
But the king
wanted to see what he could do. Besides, it really wouldn’t hurt to try.
So, the
farmer was taken to the stable. He asked to be left alone with the bird. The
king went back to his palace. He nervously paced up and down, racking his
brains as to what the farmer might possibly be doing. After 30 minutes, he went
back to the stable. And to his surprise, the second falcon was flying high in
the sky.
“My king, I
claim my rightful reward”, said the farmer. The king handed over 50 gold coins
and asked him excitedly, “But how did you do it?”
“My king,
it’s simple. I picked up this axe and cut the tree branch on which the falcon
was sitting”
And thus,
the supposedly complex problem had a simple solution.
How often do
we sit perched on our branches, holding on to our support system, refusing to
get out of our comfort zone just because we are scared of what lies ahead? The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice. We choose
to not do something, because we are busy, because it is hard, or because we do not know if we will
succeed or fail.
Imagine the
world if Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magallen and all those
countless voyagers were to sit at home, and not set out on those paths of
discovery, for fear of what lay outside the safety of their homeland. We’d
probably still be sitting at home, believing the world consisted of just our
neighbors, or that the world was flat.
So the next
time you decide that something is too hard, or not worth your while, think
about the second falcon. And make a start, cut that branch, spread your wings, fly
and discover your true potential. The only limitations in life are the ones we
create, believe, and nourish within our own minds.
The rock
band, The Calling puts it well in their song “Our Lives” when they say
In this world divided by fear, we've got to
believe that
There's a reason we're here
'Cause these are the days worth living
These are the years we're given
And these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives
