To tell the rest of the “fragments” saga, we need to pause here to look at 2 very dissimilar creatures. There are differences in behavior between a prairie chicken and an eagle that arise from their different perspectives. The prairie chicken bee bops around in the grass and never flies very high. He only sees and thinks about what is immediately around him.
The eagle soars to dizzying heights and sees many miles in all directions. She has a much more expansive view and attitude because of her perspective. She thinks about what is far off as well as what is close at hand.
There are differences in behavior between prairie chicken people and eagle people that arise from their different perspectives as well.
The prairie chicken man (or woman) bee bops around in his everyday life and never flies up high in his mind to think about the future and what might be possible in it. He does not think in terms of taking actions now to achieve a better destiny. He pursues pleasure and avoids pain. There is no noble purpose ordained for him, no mission he is called to. He only sees and thinks about what is immediately around him.
The eagle woman (or man) soars up high in her imagination and perceives what is going to happen in the future as the logical consequence of actions taken right now. She will, when necessary, embrace sacrifice and avoid pleasure in order to achieve the desired destiny. She thinks about what is far off in the future as well as what is close at hand. She will take actions now to create the future she desires. The eagle woman perceives that there is a calling on her life, a mission that God ordained before time began.
The Parable of the Adopted Eagle
There is a blizzard raging high in the mountains. An eagle’s nest, near the summit, is broken open on one side by a sudden blast of wind. A single eagle’s egg falls out and slides down the side of the mountain on the snow. Miraculously, it is not broken as it careens down rocky slopes all the way into the valley below. It comes to rest, unscathed, in the tall grass near a nest of prairie chicken eggs. The prairie chicken mother notices it lying there and, thinking it is one of her own that has fallen out, picks it up and puts it in her nest. This eagle is raised as a prairie chicken. He is never very happy. An eagle makes a crappy, lousy prairie chicken. The other prairie chickens think him funny looking, odd, and inferior.
One day when the little eagle and his prairie chicken siblings are out playing, chasing bugs in the grass, a huge shadow falls over the land. They all look up and see the majestic sight of an eagle soaring so high that you almost can not lean your head back far enough to see her. One of his “brothers” says, “I see that look in your eyes. You could never fly like that. The eagle is the greatest of all the birds. You are a prairie chicken.”
For a moment, the little eagle thinks he will bestir himself and bolt up out of the prairie chicken world and do great aerial exploits with the eagles. Then the thought passes. “You’re right,” he says. “I’m just a prairie chicken.” So he lives out the rest of his miserable life as a prairie chicken.
Do not let the prairie chickens tell you that you are not an eagle. Be an eagle. Bolt up out of the prairie chicken world and soar high!
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