The Happy Crow

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Day 1302: June 8, 2016: Prompt write a story or poem about The Happy Crow.

I had to google "Happy Crow" - because it seemed like an actual thing...what I found was a morality tale about a Crow and a Peacock.  Link to the story that inspired this retelling...http://www.moralstories.org/happy-peacock-crow/

So here is my version/retelling of this old fable...

Crow was perched high up in her tree, enjoying the sunshine on her glossy black feathers and feeling at peace. Crow was content. Her forest home was wide and welcoming. One day, she looked down to see a graceful swan moving across the still waters of a pond. Crow was transfixed by the soft downy white of her feathers, so different from her own. Crow thought, this fine Swan with her lovely snow white color must be the happiest bird in all the land. She flew down to ask him if he was.

Swan told Crow that he believed he had been the happiest bird in the world until he had met a Parrot. The Parrot had vivid feathers of blue and green that were stunning to behold. Swan knew then that Parrot, not Swan, must be the happiest bird in all the land.

Crow set off to find Parrot. Crow found Parrot soaring above the jungle canopy. Parrot was indeed beautiful. Crow thought, this surely must be the happiest bird. She asked the Parrot and he solemnly replied...

"I once believed I could not be happier, that I had all I could ever want with my beautiful multicolored frock. Then I met Peacock. I only have two colors and Peacock has so many more. Her Feathers are magnificent. I knew then that I could never be the happiest bird in all the land."

Crow set off to find Peacock. She had to travel far and wide until at least she found him in a tiny zoo in the center of a large city. Crow approached Peacock and said, "Peacock, I am in such awe of your beauty! Surely you, with your lovely feathers in all the colors of the rainbow, must be the happiest bird in all the land."

Peacock gazed at the Crow for a long time. He finally bent his beautiful long neck and the delicate crown of yellow gold feathers on his head caught the fading light. Crow thought that Peacock did not look happy. He looked quite sad. Then Peacock spoke, "Dear Crow, I once believed that I was the most beautiful and most happiest bird in all the land. My feathers rivaled all others but because of my beauty, I am trapped in this zoo. People come from all over to gaze at my feathers but I am not free to leave. There are many birds here, some are white like the Swan, some are multicolored like the Parrot. We are all colorful and we are all confined but you Crow, you are free. I think that must make you the happiest bird in all the land."

Crow looked at the Peacock, then up at the blue sky above, and knew he was right. Crow spread her glossy black wings, caught the currents and headed for home. THE END

                    
I think it is easy sometimes to lose sight of ourselves. In a world driven by the material trappings of success, it is hard not to look at around and see what others have and think, "if only that were me..."  I have often found myself imagining how my life could be better if I were thinner, more attractive, more wealthy, more successful in business. It is human nature to covet what we don't possess. It is hard to be content to be a Crow when there are so many Swans, Parrots and Peacocks out there. I have come to realize though, that people are not always what they seem - or what they project. Success and wealth are all relative. You can be very rich, and still be very lonely. You can be very beautiful but have an ugly heart. The test for each of us is to look at our lives and figure out how we measure our own relative success.. Maybe we might own a tiny home but we hold the mortgage, free and clear of any bank...Perhaps, we have a tedious job without glitz and glamour but we get to be home every weekend with our kids...Or maybe we live paycheck to paycheck but the bills are paid and we appreciate the little extras we afford ourselves...

Maybe we are just plain Crows, but we are free and we are happy.

Chasing Success and Getting Lost Among the Momeraths

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Day 753 March 30, 2016 

Prompt: Why are we conditioned into the strawberry and cream, Mother Goose world, Alice in Wonderland fable, only to be broken on the wheel as we grow older and become aware of ourselves as individuals with a dull responsibility in life? Sylvia Plath.  What is your take on this?

The brilliance of Plath’s tormented insight has been revealed to me more and more I as age.  The way in which she viewed the world around her and her place in it, was remarkably developed and venerable for someone so young. She tragically bore the “dull responsibility” in life for as long as she could and I think of her struggle often these days. Writing, I hope, brought her some respite from those dark hours.  I know that it does that for me sometimes.  I think I agree that we, young girls in particular, are conditioned with fairytales and fables. I think they are far less a staple of growing up than they used to be.  I believe the collective conscious of today crafts warrior princesses who do the rescuing, brave girls who engineer and invent and young minds who solve problems and tote the motto, #smartisthenewcool.  I like to think mothers today raise girls who have a confidence and a vision for themselves and like me, look for the real life lessons in those old Mother Goose stories. Also, I’m not sure I see myself as an individual with a “dull responsibility in life”.  There are days of drudgery of course, but those days don’t carry the script of my existence.  Have I been broken on the wheel? Absolutely. Several times over at certain points in my life…but for each “down” there has always been a resounding “up”.  Becoming an individual is the beauty of the journey, with all its vivid pain and joy. The times when I have been broken, have allowed me to grow into something more. I love Alice and I wish sometimes the world was more “Wonderland” but one can only get lost among the mome raths for so long before having to grow up.  I know that and I make sure my daughter does too. I might not be able to spare her the wheel but I can do my best to prepare her for it.

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DAY 1232: March 30, 2016 

Prompt: What does success mean to you?

Success is something I think a lot about. My type A personality tells me that the more power and authority I have in my career, the more successful I will be.  I am driven, at times, beyond my own real ambitions I think. If I were to consider the question of what success legitimately means to me, I think my actual opinion would be far less lofty and almighty.  I would like to have recognition for my accomplishments in a very male dominated industry.  I would like my contributions to the company to be acknowledged among my peers in that industry. I would like to be seen as someone who “knows their stuff” and who’s opinion and insight matters.  Do I need to be CEO?  Some days it is easy to get lost in that fantasy but truth be told, I don’t want to sacrifice all that I would need to in order to be a good CEO. Having the finances to make home improvements, send my daughter to piano lessons and summer science camps and to take that annual vacation…that’s a more attainable way to define my success. I think just being able to live life as full as one can, with as much contentment as possible and without the stress of surviving from paycheck to paycheck, I think that makes us successful.