The Animal School

The Animal School (Author Leo Buscaglia) The animals got together in the forest one day and decided to start a school. There was a rabbit, a bird, a squirrel, a fish and an eel, and they formed a Board of Education. The rabbit insisted that running be in the curriculum. The bird insisted that flying be in the curriculum. The fish insisted that swimming be in the curriculum, and the squirrel insisted that swimming be in the curriculum. They put all of these things together and wrote a Curriculum Guide. Then they insisted that all of the animals to take all of the subjects. Although the rabbit was getting an A in running, perpendicular tree climbing was a real problem for him; he kept falling over backwards. Pretty soon he got to be sort of brain damaged, and he couldn’t run anymore. He found that instead of making an A in running, he was making C and, of course, he always made an F in perpendicular climbing. The bird was really beautiful at flying, but when it came to burrowing in the ground, he couldn’t do so well. He kept breaking his beak and wings. Pretty soon he was making a C in flying as well as an F in burrowing, and he had a hellava time with perpendicular tree climbing. Finally, the animal who ended up being valedictorian of the class was a mentally retarded eel who did everything half way. But the educators were all happy because everybody was taking all of the subjects, and it was called a "broad-based education." My Message I find so much truth behind this story. Think about how often we do this as adults, both in our personal and professional lives. We have been cultivated and familirised with a system which we are so obedient to. Yet we tend to forget that we are all unique and have our own awesome talents. Are you only getting a C in your greatest talents? Are you making a D in your God Given abilities, because you are working so hard on things that aren’t? We need to remind oursleves on what we brilliant at, and then make sure we focus our energies on that brilliance, even if it means stepping out from what we have been taught. You know the greatest leaders, most powerful innovators and pioneers are the ones who have stepped out from the crowd and did it the way they believed it should be. You need to embrace your oneness, your uniqueness and do not conform to something just because others want you to be. Be yourself and be the best that you can possibly be! May you have an awesome week where there are no restraints to how you live your life. Darren Zwiers The Quote: Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid - Albert Einstein