To take a risk is never easy. The act of migrating, for
instance, is not a simple undertaking for a tiny bird. It must turn
deliberately from solid land, food, shelter, a certain measure of
security and fly across a vast ocean in the hope of finding its
next destination.
The tiny bird, on wings of hope, commits itself with perfect
confidence to the infinite ocean of air; where all familiar
landmarks will vanish, and if its strength fails it must be lost.
And the bird's hope is justified. There is summer at the other end
of the perilous journey. The migratory bird follows its instinct
when it takes off on its long journey.
Once there was a Brownie who lived in a forest. He had a
wheelbarrow and spent the day collecting slugs and snails. At
night, he slept under a cosy blanket that had once fallen off a
passing fairy's chariot. The King of the World passed through the
forest early every morning, making everything beautiful.
The Brownie had never seen him though he longed to. He often
wondered why. A shepherd pointed out to the snug Brownie that the
reason was not far to seek he was just too wrapped up in his
secure blanket.
As long as we cling to the only securities we know we cannot make
any headway if we wish to experience the truth. Sometime, somewhere
we have to let go. We have to choose between the familiar and the
unfamiliar, between what makes us feel safe and what is
truthful.
We will get worn out and tired along the way. We may run into many
unfamiliar overgrown paths. Often we may not be able to see the way
ahead at all. That is all right, because life is often like
that.
Sometimes we are truly advancing, when to ourselves and the world
around us we may seem only to be retreating. We must choose between
a grander and better vision of ourselves and the world and
settling for the lowest level of consciousness in ourselves and our
environment.
At some point, like the homing bird that has a sure instinct to fly
across hostile landscapes and yet return safely, we will have to
take the risk and fly to discover that we do have wings and that
the winds will bear us up into the sky. And that ultimately, we
will touch down safely, to face the truth.