An eagle advised a woman on the best way to raise children.
“Are you okay, human mother?” the eagle asked.
The woman, surprised, stared at it.
“I’m scared. My baby is about to be born, and I have so many doubts. I want to give him the best, I want his life to be easy and beautiful, but how will I know if I’m raising him right?”
The eagle observed the woman and perched near her.
“Raising a child isn’t easy. It’s not about making everything comfortable. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. When my eaglets are born, the nest is full of feathers and soft grass—they have a place where they can rest, where they feel safe. But when the time comes for them to learn to fend for themselves, I take all that away. I leave only the thorns.”
The woman frowned, confused.
“Thorns? Why make it so hard?”
The eagle looked at her seriously.
“Because thorns cause discomfort. And that discomfort is necessary. They don’t stay there waiting for everything to be handed to them. The thorns force them to seek a better place, to grow. Comfort doesn’t teach them anything.”
The woman pondered the eagle’s words but still had doubts.
“And what do you do when they fall?” she asked, intrigued.
The eagle replied.
“I throw them into the air. At first, they fall because the wind overpowers them, but I catch them. I lift them with my talons and throw them again. Over and over, until they learn to fly on their own. And do you know what I do next? I let them go. I don’t help them anymore.”
The woman looked at her, wide-eyed, not fully understanding.
“I don’t enable dependency,” the eagle continued. “My children must learn to fly, must learn to be strong on their own. Life isn’t about keeping them in a soft, safe nest all the time. If I overprotect them, if I keep them in my nest forever, I won’t be teaching them anything. They need to find their own way, and I know they will.”
The woman, gazing at the eagle, took a deep breath.
“So, I should let my child suffer a little?” she said, a bit fearful.
The eagle...