Once upon a time there was a large
mountain side where there an eagle's nest rested. The eagle nest contains four
large eagle eggs. One day an earthquake rocked the mountain causing one of the
eggs to roll down the mountain, to a chicken farm, located in the valley below.
The chickens knew that they must protect and care for the eagle's egg, so an
old hen volunteered to nurture and raise the large egg.
One day the egg hatched and a beautiful eagle was born. Sadly,
however the eagle was raised to be a chicken. Soon the eagle believed he was
nothing more than a chicken. The eagle did what the other chicken did. It
scratched in the dirt for seeds. It clucked and crackled. It never flew more
than a few feet because that is what the other chickens did. The eagle loved
his home and family but his spirit cried out for more. While playing a game on
the farm one day he looked to the skies above and noticed an eagle soaring
gracefully and majestically in the skies. He asked the chickens: "what is
that beautiful bird?' the chickens replied, "That is an eagle. He is an
outstanding bird, but you cannot fly like him because you are just a
chicken." So the eagle never gave it a second thought, believing that to
be truth. He lived the life of and died as a chicken depriving himself of his
heritage because of lack of vision.
What a waste! He was born to win but conditioned to lose.
The same thing is true for most people. The unfortunate part of life is as
Oliver Wendall Holmes said, " We don't achieve excellence because our own
lack of vision."
Don't let negative people drag you down. Remember that a
person's character is not only judged by the company they keep but also by the
company they avoid.
