Perceptions: Soar like an eagle
We were lost in conversation by the edge a lake when the eagle appeared. It doused our talk so suddenly I could practically hear the sizzle. We stood there smoldering, eyes cast reverently upward as the great bird soar from one edge of the sky to the other. What is it about this bird that commands such respect?
The answer came the next week as I was gazing out the window at our neighbor's chickens. It is hard to believe they are the same species. Chickens are despicable. Every day they trade their first born for a bowl of feed. They scratch and claw and fight each other to climb to the top of the pecking order. If they make it, their reward is to be ruler of the slaves.
Eagles are the opposite of chickens. They never appear in flocks. They refuse to be cooped up, though it guarantee their daily bread. Eagles care nothing about pecking orders. They have no interest in poultry polls. They sail through the sky, secure in what they are.
The most magnificent thing about eagles is the way they move. Most of us make our way through life like crows. Crows burrow through the sky, beating the air to one side and the other with spastic little jabs. Eagles do not fight the wind. They ride it.
When a blast comes their way, they adjust a few feathers and soar.
It is right that we look with reverence to the eagle. The eagle is a gift from God to show us how to live: Secure in what we are, riding on the wind. No wonder they are a symbol of freedom. No wonder they are exceedingly rare.
