‘Some Big Birds Do Not Want to Fly’
“Some big birds do not want to fly”. That was a random thought I glossed over when I eventually uploaded it on my Whatsapp status a few days ago. I’m not sure why but all of a sudden I found myself thinking about birds and the beautiful science behind why some fly and some others do not. All have wings but not all fly. I’m not an expert in Ornithology but a little study into birds made me realize that birds do not all fly the same way. The size, flight pattern, speed and vision vary. I also discovered that over the years and due to environmental factors, some birds lost the ability to fly. It is true that some of the big birds do not actually fly for reasons apart from a simple unwillingness to. Some birds fly better while some are better runners. Whatever is the case, each is comfortable in its unique ability and has proven that the mere possession of wings does not guarantee its flight.
The ideas that crystallized in my head and the message I had thought to pass across had nothing to do with birds. It had nothing to do with flying. It had something to do with the will to succeed. I recall listening to a speech by Martin Luther King Jnr when he made a point that has stuck with me ever since. He had quoted another person when he said “it is not by size that you win or you fail”. Like birds, human beings come in different sizes and abilities. But the possibility to succeed has nothing to do with our physical size or our ability. It also has nothing to do with where we come from and the situations surrounding our birth.
We don’t all face the same challenges in life or are born into the same social class but we can rise to be whatever we want as long as we have the will. We can be all that we want to be.
Our world is replete with examples of people who went on to achieve great feats in the face of unfavourable odds. These are people who have taught us that nothing is really impossible. We can draw inspiration from that. We can draw inspiration from the fact that for every great thing we do, for every great task we pursue, for every dream that we follow through, someone, somewhere will be inspired to follow through with theirs. In a later post, I wrote that “You can fly if you got the will not the wings”. The wings in that phrase represents power. It represents strength. It represents the ability to do. The bird doesn’t fly by its mere possession of wings, it does because it wants to. To simplify things, maybe the big bird could actually fly if it decides to; if it wants to.
I have come to believe that anything can be done if the will is there. In every sphere of life, if the will to complete a task is there, that task is half completed. Even with the all the powers or abilities in the world, if there is no will to pursue a cause or task, nothing will be done. Many times I had sensed the ability to pursue a task and ended up not seeing it through. A simple reason is: the will wasn’t there.
Even as I write this, I could reel out a thousand reasons not to. The ability to write this was fuelled by a strong will to share a thought. I wanted to be the big bird that wants to fly. You’ll find out that we struggle to do many great things because we’re not interested in it enough. Let your will be fuelled by a strong interest and purpose. There is always one reason to in the midst of a thousand reasons not to. You have all you need to be all you want. You have the wings to fly. Let your will power your wings. Don’t be the bird that has lost the zeal to fly. You should be the big bird that is ready to fly.