CLOUDS ARE GREAT...

I have a confession - I like clouds. I especially enjoy Cirrus, those high-altitude wispy tapestries of ice crystals. But this blog is not about clouds, (you’ll be pleased to hear) it’s about looking-up.

Today, as I looked up to scan the clouds, my attention was caught by a buzzard and an Artic Tern. The Tern was haranguing the Buzzard with intimidating fly-bys and squawking alarm calls, which filled the air. In contrast, the Buzzard seemed unperturbed by the tern’s annoying attentions.

Instead, the buzzard flew large lazy circles in the sky, as he scripted a thermal route upwards. It was a though the buzzard knew that the rarefied air for which he was destined, was not for the like of a chattering, paranoid, neurotic tern.

Notwithstanding their behaviour, these aerial combatants got me thinking that human life can be very much akin to their antics.

After all, we are often urged to reach higher, aim higher or seek a higher path. And these aspirational ambitions resonate with what we intrinsically know. That is, we are not made for mediocrity.

However, the human equivalent of an Artic Tern tends to be our chattering negative self-talk that devalues our self-belief, belittles our talent, listens to naysayers and makes odious comparisons to others.

It is the type of self-talk determined to keep us in our place. To ensure we wallow in self-doubt and fear.

So, I say, don’t lower your standards. Seek and expect only the best for yourself. Take the higher path and work out a route that finds you moving above the mundane, the mediocre and the morass of those who would keep you down for their selfish reasons.

As all high-flying birds will tell you: it really takes no effort to be yourself and move upwards.