Day 51 Perspective The Ant and the Eagle

In life we can choose to take the perspective of either an ant or an eagle. Depending upon which one we choose, life will look very different. Let us first take the ant. The ant is extremely small and weak when compared to all things larger than it. It can be trodden on in a second by those who don’t see it or even know it was there. Therefore, it has to arrange everything around staying safe and protected, for it recognises that it's life might be very short if it doesn’t. It spends much of the time avoiding the dangers in life. To the ant, everything and everyone seems huge, like giants. They feel dwarfed, knowing how weak and vulnerable they are. Yet the ant is also one of the most prolific of workers and can achieve more than many populations twice their size. They don’t live in fear of what might be. Instead they focus on what they can do and not on what they can’t. Then there are the eagles, some of the greatest hunters and predators in the animal kingdom. They too care about staying safe but they have learned how to fly and know their own strength. They look down from a great height and to them everything seems small and insignificant. Nothing troubles or frightens them because they know who they are and are not intimidated by all that lies below them. However, were they to live on the ground, they know that they might be easy pickings for a hunter and therefore build their nests high up in the high places. So, we have one who lives in the low places and one in the high places. To live and exist in the low places will mean that everything around you will seem to be a threat to your safety and even your survival. To live in the high places gives a far greater perspective, where one doesn’t just have to focus on one aspect of life, but where you can see how the river winds her way through the forests and mountains and valleys. To live in the high places allows one to see and understand all aspects of life in a deeper and more profound way. Any day we can choose to live in either the high or low places and our choice will determine how we perceive life. Any day we can choose to be overwhelmed by our life’s circumstances and live in fear of the unknown giants that surround us. Or we can fly higher and recognise that all life is linked and joined as one.

Do you relate more to the ant or the eagle, or a little bit of both?

When do you most feel like an ant? When do you most feel like an eagle?

How can you become more like an eagle and live in the high places? How can you leave living in the low places behind?