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When you are not sure who you are

Every so often we go through stuff in life, either knowingly or unknowingly, that affect our identity, bringing in lots of insecurity to us. Sometimes we might not even know about them but the moment we become aware of them, then it becomes a problem right there.

Here below I have shared with you two sides of a story that you must have read severally before. Read them to the end and think about the lessons presented in them.

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1 – Fable of the Eagle and the Chicken - Scenario One

A baby eagle became orphaned when something happened to his parents. He glided down to the ground from his nest but was not yet able to fly. A man picked him up. The man took him to a farmer and said, “This is a special kind of barnyard chicken that will grow up big.” The farmer said, “Don’t look like no barnyard chicken to me.” “Oh yes, it is. You will be glad to own it.” The farmer took the baby eagle and placed it with his chickens.

The baby eagle learned to imitate the chickens. He could scratch the ground for grubs and worms too. He grew up thinking he was a chicken.

Then one day an eagle flew over the barnyard. The eagle looked up and wondered, “What kind of animal is that? How graceful, powerful, and free it is.” Then he asked another chicken, “What is that?” The chicken replied, “Oh, that is an eagle. But don’t worry yourself about that. You will never be able to fly like that.”

And the eagle went back to scratching the ground. He continued to behave like the chicken he thought he was.

Finally he died, never knowing the grand life that could have been his.

Question: How many of us are going through life thinking we are chicken, not knowing that infact, we are Eagles, birds that are born to live above all other birds?

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2 – Fable of the Eagle and the Chicken - Scenario Two

A fable is told about an eagle who thought he was a chicken. When the eagle was very small, he fell from the safety of his nest. A chicken farmer found the eagle, brought him to the farm, and raised him in a chicken coop among his many chickens. The eagle grew up doing what chickens do, living like a chicken, and believing he was a chicken.

A naturalist came to the chicken farm to see if what he had heard about an eagle acting like a chicken was really true. He knew that an eagle is king of the sky. He was surprised to see the eagle strutting around the chicken coop, pecking at the ground, and acting very much like a chicken. The farmer explained to the naturalist that this bird was no longer an eagle. He was now a chicken because he had been trained to be a chicken and he believed that he was a chicken.

The naturalist knew there was more to this great bird than his actions showed as he “pretended” to be a chicken. He was born an eagle and had the heart of an eagle, and nothing could change that. The man lifted the eagle onto the fence surrounding the chicken coop and said, “Eagle, thou art an eagle. Stretch forth thy wings and fly.” The eagle moved slightly, only to look at the man; then he glanced down at his home among the chickens in the chicken coop where he was comfortable. He jumped off the fence and continued doing what chickens do. The farmer was satisfied. “I told you it was a chicken,” he said.

The naturalist returned the next day and tried again to convince the farmer and the eagle that the eagle was born for something greater. He took the eagle to the top of the farmhouse and spoke to him: “Eagle, thou art an eagle. Thou dost belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth thy wings and fly.” The large bird looked at the man, then again down into the chicken coop. He jumped from the man’s arm onto the roof of the farmhouse.

Knowing what eagles are really about, the naturalist asked the farmer to let him try one more time. He would return the next day and prove that this bird was an eagle. The farmer, convinced otherwise, said, “It is a chicken.”

The naturalist returned the next morning to the chicken farm and took the eagle and the farmer some distance away to the foot of a high mountain. They could not see the farm nor the chicken coop from this new setting. The man held the eagle on his arm and pointed high into the sky where the bright sun was beckoning above. He spoke: “Eagle, thou art an eagle! Thou dost belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth thy wings and fly.” This time the eagle stared skyward into the bright sun, straightened his large body, and stretched his massive wings. His wings moved, slowly at first, then surely and powerfully.

With the mighty screech of an eagle, he flew.

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Let's review the second scenario. What was wrong with the Eagle? What had happened to him? He still had his wings, his claws, powerful big and everything else that an Eagle has. Why wasn't he behaving like the Eagle he was? The answer is simple: Identity Crisis. This happpens to many of us for different reasons. 

This brings me to share with you an excerpt from this blog  I was reading just before posting this....

Any sudden or huge changes in life might cause an identity crisis. What do you need to do in order to overcome this situation?

1. Examine your center - How do you spend time everyday ? What do you enjoy doing ? Do you enjoy the things you currently do ?

2. Examine your health - Are you healthy ? Do you eat well and get enough sleep. Are you exercising and keeping fit ?

3. Examine your dreams and goals - What are your dreams ? What do you want to achieve in life ? Are you taking steps towards that ?

4. Examine your relationships - Do you have healthy and positive relationships with your family and friends ? Find people who make you smile and spend more time with them. Cut out the people who bring you down. Not every relationship is meant to last.

5. Examine your self - Think about what got you to this situation. Did you make any mistakes ? If yes, learn from them. Find a counselor or a trusted friend or family member and talk to them. Clear your mind and gear up for an exciting future.

You don't have to live life doing what you shouldn't be doing, being whoever you shouldn't be. Spread your wings and be the Eagle you were born to be. 

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