The Kiwi That Was Afraid To Fly!

Our story begins with a Kiwi - a cute, fluffy, small flightless bird native to New Zealand. Now this cute fluffy bird with tiny wings that are almost invisible, was a nocturnal creature by nature. It would awaken when most other birds were sleeping, and wander into the darkness, foraging the undergrowth while seeking refuge in the forest. Everyday, in the early hours as the sun rose when the first rays of light flickered, the little bird would look up at the sky and watch in awe as the other birds would take their first morning flight.

One morning the same as any other, the little Kiwi watched, as it always did, as the other birds chirped excitedly to each other, catching the wind between their large wings, soaring regally into the sky. The Kiwi watched as they ducked and weaved with such ease and grace, their wings designed proportinate to their bodies allowing them to fly effortlessly. With a tinge of sadness and a touch of envy the little bird with tiny wings let out a heavy sigh and turned its back from the sun, burrowing deep into the undergrowth to settle for sleep.

Only this morning, the Kiwi had a particularly restless sleep, haunted by dreams of flying with the other birds. The dream started off so joyful where the little Kiwi was flying high in the sky surrounded by the other birds feeling the serenity of the wind lift it up and carry it higher. The little Kiwi had never been so happy and imagined that this must be what bliss felt like because for the first time it felt like it was home. Just as the little Kiwi was embracing this happiness, without warning it felt itself falling back to Earth. It crashed back on the ground, helpless as it watched the other birds ascending, its tiny wings flapping like mad to take flight. 'Wait, wait for me. I'm coming' cried the little Kiwi, but no matter how hard it tried it couldn't take flight.

The little Kiwi awoke sobbing and asked aloud 'Why did you curse me? Why did you make me like this? I am a bird, you gave me wings, but what good are they if I can't use them?'  Feeling the overwhelming disappointment weigh on it's tiny heart the little Kiwi buried it's head into the ground and listened to the voice inside it's head whisper 'I will never be whole for I am not a real bird. I am a bird with tiny wings who can't even fly.'

Darkness had returned to the forest so the little Kiwi reluctantly arose and began it's usual walk only this time it's head hung really low filled with sadness. As it walked it didn't even notice it's old friend Owl staring down from a tree until it heard Owl's wise voice shatter the silence of it's melancholy 'Dear friend why do you hang your head so low? What troubles you on this fine evening?' So the little Kiwi sat down under the tree and told it's friend about it's dream to fly and the ensuing pain from the weight of failure of its dream that had turned into a nightmare. It was a while before the wise old Owl spoke, having perched there listening and pondering the words of its friend deeply. 'My dear friend why do you believe you cannot fly? If you were given wings then you can fly.  It's not the size of your wings that matter, no matter how small they are, it matters whether or not you believe you can fly.'

The little Kiwi listened to Owls words and thought they were kind and comforting and held some truth as everyone knows how wise Owl is. However the nagging voice was still there saying ' You can't, your wings are too small, your dear friend Owl is just being compassionate, but knows you can't fly no matter how much you believe.'

Owl sensing the unsaid words spoke again this time more gently, 'Why don't you believe you can fly little Kiwi? You have wings do you not? What's really stopping you? The little Kiwi looked up at its friend and into the twirling eyes of the wisest creature of all and knew it couldn't lie, quietly offering a barely audible, 'I'm too afraid'. Owl replied speaking the words slowly, 'Are you too afraid to try? Why? Sometimes it is the fear of failure and the disappointment that follows or the fear of humiliation from the other birds if you fail, thats stops us from trying. Or maybe what stops you is your fear of rejection because you don't feel you belong with the other birds? Whatever it is my dear friend you still have to try.'

The little Kiwi listened and thought about Owls wise words and questioned what the real reason was before answering. 'Dear Owl, I'm not afraid to try. I am afraid to believe, because if I believe I can fly, it changes everything. Owls eyes softened and smiled 'Yes well my friend that's quite the quandary isn't it.' For what seemed like a very long time, they both sat there in silence lost in the words of each others thoughts. Finally after deep contemplation Owl ruffled its feathers, and speaking to its friend the little Kiwi, offered one last morsel of wisdom, 'So you are afraid to believe you can fly... because of all that it means to spread your wings and fly. Never be afraid to believe you can fly little Kiwi.'

Owl paused and with a long held stare and a slow nod, finished by saying, 'Sometimes you just need to take a leap of faith and let the wind catch you.'

(...) I told you, that we could fly, 'cause we all have wings, but some of us don't know why...(Never Tear Us Apart, INXS)

With much love and peace to all,

Melanie Saint-James

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