Are you REALLY willing to fly?
On self-imposed limits and comfortable cages
Apparently the dinosaurs didn’t die out. Hmm-hmm. Nope. In fact, the current scientific consensus is that some dinosaurs were feathered and actually survived the obliteration of Earth’s natural environment to become … modern birds.
Which is why one of our beloved budgies (aka budgerigar, aka parakeet) is called Rex. As in, Tyrannosaurus rex.
Our other budgie is called Selene, after the creamy-blue Moon Goddess.
It’s at this point that I need to explain that I live in a zoo. Not literally, but in terms of the vast number of animals that find a home in my home. Let’s just say the phrase “no more pets” has lost all sense of integrity in my family. All of our animals are rescues in some form, and all of them find unbridled love, respect, adoration and comfort in our household.
Our budgies are no exception. Rex came to us from a crowded cage in a local bird store. He was being bullied, slowly starved, and gradually plucked to an undignified baldness by his cage companions. Selene was bigger, but stressed.
They arrived at our home and were placed into a mansion of a cage — just the two of them in an incredibly spacious aviary-on-wheels. They have ample space to flutter around in excitement, and perch on natural branches that don’t stress their feet. They are safe, they are comfortable and they are content.
Which is why I think they don’t fly.
Every day, we wheel the budgie cage into a safe room in the house, open the cage door and enable our tiny dinosaurs to fly free. And, every day the budgies refuse to step beyond the limits of their aviary. Even tempted with food, they may creep into the open air only to flit back inside at the slightest hint of movement.
Back into the familiarity of their cage; back into the safe space of their comfortable confines.
You can bet your a** there’s an analogy here!
If my budgies have taught me anything, it is how incredibly easy it can be to resist freedom — whether it be emotional, mental, spiritual, or financial freedom — if our lives are comfortable where we are now.
How many of us refuse to take a step forward because we are just comfortable enough where we are? How many of us avoid a new profession, because our current job pays enough to cover the bills? How many resist the call to find a deeper, truer love, because our current relationship is, meh, ok? How many of us ignore the deep yearning of a life-long dream, because it means stepping beyond the familiarity of our well-established limits?
How many of us are willing to embrace the discomfort of limitlessness; step into the vastness of new potential; explore the power of our own “wings” of capability and strength?
If you are comfortable, chances are there is a door open somewhere you haven’t stepped through yet.
Because being comfortable doesn’t mean you’re free. It means you’re contained in a space just big enough to stop you from wanting more.
Kim Forrester is an award-winning author, educator and intuitive consultant with over 15 years’ experience as a professional intuitive and spiritual teacher. She combines cutting edge science with traditional spirituality to offer the latest understandings of psi, consciousness and holistic well being.
