Once upon a time, there was a young bird. Just like many other birds, she floated in the sky, catching midges for lunch, and swam in the summer’s rain trickles.
As time went by, she developed a habit: every time some event occurred in her life, whether good or bad, the bird picked up a stone from the ground.
Every day she sorted out her stones, laughed remembering joyful events, and cried remembering the sad ones.
The bird always took the stones with her. Whether she was flying in the sky, or perching on a tree, she never forgot to carry them along.
The years had passed, and the bird had gathered a lot of stones, but she still kept sorting them, remembering the past. Now it was becoming more and more difficult for her to use her wings, and one day the bird was unable to fly.
Soon the bird could no longer move on her own. She could not catch midges anymore; only rare rain gave her a little water to drink, and, very seldom, she was able to catch little insects that happened to crawl around her. The bird felt constantly hungry and thirsty and was in pain, but she bravely endured all the hardships, guarding her precious memories.
One day, as the bird was about to die of starvation and thirst, she heard a
happy chirping high above.
Looking up, she saw a young, free little bird, floating unburdened in the sky, just like she used to. She knew she had to make a choice. If she wanted to live, she had to give up the stones, the attachments to her memories. And this is exactly what she did.
She suddenly felt lighter. And, with time, she regained her strength and ability to fly.
Enjoying the present moment, she noticed she could fly higher and higher, feeling increasingly at peace with the beautiful nature surrounding her and delighting the entire world with her unique, joyful song.
-Anonymous