Ruts, Rules, and Resolutions

I am particularly fond of the parables of Soren Kierkegaard, a noted Danish theologian and Philosopher, and so I decided to share one of my favorites with you as we return to the patterns of the spring semester.

Kierkegaard wrote a parable about a wild duck that came to eat with the tame ducks in a farmer’s barnyard.  The wild duck intended to feast there for a day, but enjoyed it so much he decided to stay for a while.  Each day he ate more and more and grew heavier and heavier, he felt perfectly at home there on the ground.  When fall came and the wild ducks took to the skies, something stirred within him.  He decided it was time to move on.  He longed to soar into the skies, but when he spread his wings, there was no strength there.  His body was too heavy and his wings were too weak.  He could not get off of the ground.  He tried and tried, but he couldn’t get over the fence.  Each spring and fall as he saw the other wild ducks, he would look up and flap his wings, then settle down to his comfortable life.  And it wasn’t too long before he didn’t even look up anymore.  Subtly and gradually, he had become a prisoner, enslaved by his easy living; he forgot he was meant for the skies. (Parable adapted from Parables of Kierkegaard.)

This is not meant as a Weight Watchers promo, but a reminder that so many of us are imprisoned by ruts of our own making.  It is the very things that we treasure that also limit us.  It is the “rules” of life that we internalize that keep us from trying new things or reaching towards new goals.  It is the patterns that we develop to make life easier that may hide our next opportunities towards growth.  If you made New Year’s Resolutions, I hope you are making your early goals.  If you didn’t and like me you have stumbled into a growth edge recently without looking too hard, I hope you are making a plan and reaching out of your usual self in new ways.  If you are enjoying a “coast” phase right now, I pray that you will enjoy the rest until it is time to change again.

I am reminded of these words from the Hebrew Bible, Ecclesiastes 3.1-8:

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Blessings, Stephanie