There once lived a bird. Building a nest on the big tree, finding food in the nearby field, flying around in the known surroundings and chirping away to each other, the bird lived its life along with his friends. There were challenges in his life in the form of storm and torrential rains, lack of good food around, occasional drought, death of a friend etc. But they were all taken in its stride and everyone including this little bird moved on in life. They were all happy leading their respective lives.

One fine day, the bird decided to fly away from its known surroundings. He gathered all his strength and started the long flight into the unknown, fearful terrains. For the first time, he came across big predatory birds. He had to duck down, hide, and sometimes fly like he has never flown before to save himself. Finding food was not easy either. The new terrains presented unfamiliar berries and worms. He had to develop a liking towards them and that took time. Long flights, unfriendly weather conditions and lack of rest left some scars on his otherwise flawless body. 

However, in a matter of  weeks he learnt the art of living in unknown terrains. He never stopped flying after that. He prepared himself to face bigger challenges. He knew the problems he had to face now were not limited to storm and torrential rains, lack of good food around, occasional drought, death of a friend etc. In addition to all of these, he was faced with new challenges every day. He often thought to himself : If I had spent the rest of my life on that tree with my friends, I would not have encountered the challenges that I face today. But then, I would not have known the joy of flying in new terrains, the high of finding myself alive every morning in a new place and  the triumph that I feel after escaping from the clutches of a predatory bird. He was happy with the decision he had made. 

Isn’t that true with all of us? We know every change we bring about, every new ambition we have, cometh with its own set of challenges. Does that stop us from making those changes or having those ambitions? No! We may in retrospect think of our lives before the change as easy or simple, but, we were all meant to make that change and face that challenge. 

We may not always be able to anticipate the challenges that lay ahead when we decide to take that flight. Some of us may even end up crippled for a while. But, that has not stopped us from taking that leap when we think we are ready for it. 

For example, if I had not signed up for the sky diving session for tomorrow, I wouldn’t be worrying about the safety issues and other related challenges today. Or, if I had not decided to drive into the busy city, I wouldn’t be worrying about finding a parking slot there. Or, if I had not decided to find a job, i wouldn’t be faced with the challenges of finding a job. 

It makes me feel better when I think that a lot of challenges that I face today are direct results of the decisions I made. If I had decided to stay put, the challenges wouldn’t exist. But then, who could stop that little bird from taking the flight! Similarly who can stop each of us from taking on newer flights! We all fly, and we all thrive. 

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