Parakeet Parable

Recently I was working with a Los Angeles client via FaceTime and I noticed she kept looking to her left.  After a few times, curiosity got the best of me and I asked what she was looking at.  She told me there were parakeets outside her window.  She went on to explain that a local pet store had burned down, some parakeets escaped, and now they live in the trees in her neighborhood.



I think this is a great story and it offers a lesson for us humans.  Please indulge me.  I'm going to provide the parable from the perspective of the parakeets:

 

So we lived in a cage in a pet store, and we thought the pet store was the whole world. A big fire came and burned down the walls of the pet store.  Everything was chaotic and so stressful.  We were very afraid.  We thought the world was ending.  But we were brave and we flew away.

 

Imagine our surprise to learn there was an even bigger world beyond the chaos - an amazing, beautiful world we never knew existed.  Now that bigger world is our home.  We are free.  We live in trees and fly around and sing all day.  We are happier than we ever imagined possible.  Every day we marvel at the beauty and freedom of this new world, and we realize the chaos was a gift.

 

Lesson:  If their home hadn't burned down, the parakeets would have never known this exhilarating happiness.  Initially, it seemed like the end of the world.  Ultimately, it was a ticket to freedom.
 

When life is stressful, frightening and chaotic, remember the parakeets.   

Breathe, meditate and be brave.  Trust me, there is a gift in the chaos.