Fear of Flying

        Diana and Paul, my Colorado friends, own two dogs and a large parrot. One day their parrot escaped their house and flew to the top of an Aspen tree in their back yard. But the silly bird, though it knew it could fly up, didn’t realize it also had the power to fly down. Diana stood outside for 20 minutes cajoling until finally--nervously and very gingerly—the parrot crept down the tree, claw by claw, branch by branch.
       Even as I laughed at the story, I wondered: how often am I just like that silly parrot? How often do I fail to use all the power I possess? When we hold ourselves back, avoiding risk, it’s usually because we’re afraid.
      But as E. Hubbard wrote: “The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually be afraid you will make one.”
      Scripture says, “Be not afraid.”
     A modern philosopher put it this way: “Feel the fear--and do it anyway.”
     Next time I feel afraid to take a legitimate risk, I’m going to think about that silly parrot. And instead of limiting myself, I’m going to spread my wings and fly.
     How about you?

Daring to fly

Diana and Paul, a 30-something couple in Colorado have no children, but they do have two dogs and a large parrot. While I was visiting this summer, their parrot escaped their house and flew to the top of an Aspen tree in their back yard. But the silly bird, though it knew it could fly up, didn’t realize it also had the power to fly down. It was frightened. Diana had to cajole and cajole until finally--very gingerly and carefully—the parrot crept down the tree, branch by branch.
Even as I laughed, I wondered: how often do I fail to realize I have the power to fly? It can happen to us all. The Apostle Peter, while walking across the water toward his Master, Jesus, was suddenly clutched by fear. Immediately he lost his power.
My year-old grandson stood and walked as he pushed his toy lawnmower. But he didn’t yet realize could walk without holding on, so away from the toy, he dropped back to his knees and crawled.
It may seem scary at first to dare to spread our wings and fly. But if we don't dare--if we don't trust--how will we learn what power resides within us---just waiting to be tapped?