Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Weight Prevents Flight

My eldest daughter and I were driving down a very busy street. We saw a seagull dodging between cars who were traveling rather quickly. We were trying to figure out why this bird could not fly any higher than the rooftops of these cars and then we noticed... A plastic grocery bag had gotten entangled on the bird's foot. Every time the seagull tried to fly, the air caught into the plastic bag and looked oddly like a parachute behind this desperate bird. The faster it tried to fly, the more air inflated the plastic bag! My daughter, who loves animals, and loves even more rescuing animals who appear to be in distress, gave a huge yelp and told me to "follow that bird!!!!!" Since I love animals as well, I gladly obliged her order and we dodged and wove our way through the streets making sure the bird was not hit. Finally, the seagull, clearly exhausted, landed in the parking lot of a grocery store (the name matching the plastic bag attached to the seagull's foot). As soon as I parked, my daughter jumped out of the car with one focused mission....to get that plastic bag off of the seagull's foot, so it could fly unhindered! By the time I got out of the car, the bird was taking flight! I asked my daughter what happened and she declared with great delight that holding the bag allowed the bird to pull its foot free! Well, of course, I saw this unusual incident as a "teachable moment"! I thought of students across this country...and the world...who have "weights" that prevent them from taking flight and achieving the ultimate success for their lives. It could be domestic violence, child abuse, hunger, low self-esteem, failing grades, gang affiliations, poor health or medical care, divorce, death of a friend or parent...there are so many weights that could prevent self-actualization! Join me administrators, educators, parents, social workers, medical and community workers...to help students rid themselves of weights so they can soar to greatness!