A FABLE

I heard this fable recently, and I’d like to share it with you. It goes like this:
A deer, a rabbit, a hummingbird and a bear were living happily in the forest until one day a fire started in the forest and the animals had to flee their homes. The deer, rabbit, hummingbird and bear ran and ran away from the fire until they safely reached a pond at the edge of the forest.

The hummingbird scooped water from the pond into little beak and flew back into the forest. He returned again and again to the forest with his little beak full of water. Finally, the little hummingbird became too exhausted to return to the forest with his thimble-sized quantity of water.

The other animals asked, “Why are you bothering to do this? It can’t possibly be making much of a difference.” The hummingbird replied, “I’m doing what I can, with what I have, where I am.”

In this “fifteen minutes of fame” culture, we often feel that we have to be offered extraordinary circumstances in order to make a difference in the world, when in fact, we all have the gift to impact change in the world by doing what we can, with what we have, where we are right at this moment.

Katherine Generaux