Born For The Sky

Here is a little story (of unknown origin) that helps to illustrate a difficulty that many people will face at some time in their life.

A man found an eagle's egg and put it in the nest of a barnyard hen. The eagle hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life, the eagle did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and cackled. And he thrashed his wings and flew a few feet in the air.

Born for the sky

Years passed and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among powerful wind currents, with scarcely a beat of its strong, golden wings.

The old eagle looked up in awe, "Who's that?" he asked. "That's the eagle, the king of birds," said one of the hens. "He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth - we're chickens."

So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that is what he thought he was.
My friend, you too were born for the sky. As a unique human being, you have, deep within yourself, a burning desire to achieve something with your life. But for many people, the reality is that they get so caught-up in the daily-grind of trying to make a living, that they never really discover that desire and so they end up living their entire lives like the "chicken"

What the "chicken" really needed was to discover that he really was an eagle; and then he would have been able to begin to learn how to fly (even eagles need to learn); and eventually he would learn how to soar.

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Ignacy J. Paderewski: The Essence Of Helping Others

How often do you do good to people you don't know? The following story made me look at myself and and ask questions. Here is a real life story that inspired me to take a new line of thinking regarding people who need help from me.

In 1892 at Stanford University:

An 18-year-old student was struggling to pay his fees. He was an orphan, and not knowing where to turn for money, he came up with a bright idea. He and a friend decided to host a musical concert on campus to raise money for their education.

 Ignacy J. Paderewski

They reached out to the great pianist Ignacy J. Paderewski. His manager demanded a guaranteed fee of $2000 for the piano recital. A deal was struck and the boys began to work to make the concert a success.

The big day arrived. But unfortunately, they had not managed to sell enough tickets. The total collection was only $1600. Disappointed, they went to Paderewski and explained their plight. They gave him the entire $1600, plus a cheque for the balance $400. They promised to honour the cheque at the soonest possible.

“No,” said Paderewski. “This is not acceptable.” He tore up the cheque, returned the $1600 and told the two boys: “Here’s the $1600. Please deduct whatever expenses you have incurred. Keep the money you need for your fees. And just give me whatever is left”. The boys were surprised, and thanked him profusely.

It was a small act of kindness. But it clearly marked out Paderewski as a great human being.
Why should he help two people he did not even know? We all come across situations like these in our lives. And most of us only think “If I help them, what would happen to me?” 

Herbert Hoover

Paderewski later went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland. He was a great leader, but unfortunately when the World War began, Poland was ravaged. There were more than 1.5 million people starving in his country, and no money to feed them. Paderewski did not know where to turn for help. He reached out to the US Food and Relief Administration for help.He heard there was a man called Herbert Hoover — who later went on to become the US President. Hoover agreed to help and quickly shipped tons of food grains to feed the starving Polish people.

A calamity was averted. Paderewski was relieved. He decided to go across to meet Hoover and personally thank him. When Paderewski began to thank Hoover for his noble gesture, Hoover quickly interjected and said, “You shouldn’t be thanking me Mr. Prime Minister. You may not remember this, but several years ago, you helped two young students go through college. I was one of them.”
The world is a wonderful place. What goes around comes around, pls help others, God will definitely help you.

Thank you for reading and God bless you!

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