Don’t You Dare Call an Eagle a Bird

It’s 9:00 pm at night and I just finished my shift at work. I can’t wait to get home and cook the groceries I had bought the night before. My stomach is rumbling, and I am as tired as can be. On my arrival at my nest,  I sit at my work desk ready to watch youtube, and relax… but the rumblings grow louder, from a slight high pitch to a low baritone; like a broken down car attempting to come back to life, my stomach growls for food. The great voices in my head become louder as the ones that push through the hollow walls of my belly cry deeper. “ you hear that buddy ? are you sure you can survive till the morning? even worst are you sure you won’t die before you finish cooking all the food ?… why don’t we just order something and attempt discipline some other time? *wink and kiss* I’ll never lead you down the wrong path Sincerely, your mind”. 

            This well-authored and heartwarming message from my mind at that moment was all I needed, to give in. A simple supposedly well-intentioned suggestion, to care for my wellbeing. For the sake of honesty, I must say I did give in to this charming inhabitant that never pays rent but lives carefree in the luxurious quarters of my head. I ordered a burger, then I came to the conclusion “oh well, since you already gave in and failed to cook, might as well enjoy the night. The jar is opened, why take one cookie ? you’ll get caught anyway, “let’s take all of it”. so I ordered more food, as the only way to make the shame go away, is to normalize behavior.

            Once the food was a third done and the hunger pangs had subsided… going from a revving Mercedes Amg to the trickling sound of rain on a spring afternoon; Another voice came through. This one was calmer and seemed more rational. It asked simple questions rather than made suggestions or conclusions. “your food took 30 minutes to arrive, how long do you think it would take to cook some rice and vegetables with a nice sauce ?!”. A different kind of shame followed, one that seemed hopeless, the kind that a drug addict feels before a positive feedback loop starts another cycle. I felt so undisciplined and gave up trying to cook for myself…Writing this post is the first time I myself have had a say in all this, I must ask myself which one of these opinionated tenants is right and which is simply blowing dust.

            In my opinion,  neither is right or wrong. Freedom is represented in popular culture as an eagle. It is said an eagle can fly up to 10’000 feet in the air and is at the top of its food chain. Many birds can fly higher than an eagle, but few have both the instincts and the ability that an eagle has. How does this carnivorous flying machine have to do with your self-discipline when taking care of yourself? The answer is “choice”; because an eagle is strong, it has a choice in what it can eat, and because it can fly so high it gets to see all its choices. Those voices in your heads are simply tenants, they make suggestions and not conclusions. Your head is a million-dollar penthouse in New York, and you are the landlord. The rent is high, because the space is worth a lot, and you must keep it that way or else the value will go down; as bad tenants ruin the place. This is why self-care is important… you become the choices you make, not the opinions you hold. The fewer choices we give ourselves, the more primitive we become. The more impulsive actions we make. You are not merely a human, as an eagle is not merely a bird. Make good choices, rise up to the occasion and be more than your opinion. Choose to be free, choose your best opinions.