Five year old Theo, on his first morning of vacation, found a feather on the terrace.
It was a sweet little feather, perfectly formed, a soft gray piece of fluff, and he immediately attached himself to the treasure...until his older brother caught a glimpse of it.
He wanted it too, and being the older, stronger brother, took it as his own.
I first noticed the discord when Theo walked into the house with a huff. Folded arms, grumpy face, almost in tears.
I would have to force big brother to give it back, but I first tried to instill in him a bigger idea.
"Find your own feather."
A simple suggestion, but wrapped within the phrase is power and truth often overlooked much to the detriment of all mankind--it's not just children who cling to a finite position in a world of infinite possibilities.
Jealousy, covetousness, thievery, plagiarism, copy-catting, patent stealing are the products of little thought, of little minds, of finite thinking that there's only one feather in the world.
Later that morning, when we went to the beach, big brother found there were hundreds of birds and thousands of feathers—-of which he only needed four.
It was a sweet little feather, perfectly formed, a soft gray piece of fluff, and he immediately attached himself to the treasure...until his older brother caught a glimpse of it.
He wanted it too, and being the older, stronger brother, took it as his own.
I first noticed the discord when Theo walked into the house with a huff. Folded arms, grumpy face, almost in tears.
I would have to force big brother to give it back, but I first tried to instill in him a bigger idea.
"Find your own feather."
A simple suggestion, but wrapped within the phrase is power and truth often overlooked much to the detriment of all mankind--it's not just children who cling to a finite position in a world of infinite possibilities.
Jealousy, covetousness, thievery, plagiarism, copy-catting, patent stealing are the products of little thought, of little minds, of finite thinking that there's only one feather in the world.
Later that morning, when we went to the beach, big brother found there were hundreds of birds and thousands of feathers—-of which he only needed four.
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