The Eagle and the Badger
“There’s only one thing worse than not getting what you want—getting it.” We’ve all seen it happen. The woman who angles for the top job, gets it, but the toll it takes wipes out her happiness. The man who leaves his wife and family for the “perfect” new woman, only to wake the next morning with the taste of ash in his mouth. Every addiction that leads to agony begins with an ecstatic grasping of the prize. Getting what you want.
I remember speaking to a group of people a few years ago about finding joy and happiness in life. When I said it was important to let go of grudges and fears and crippling old memories—all the negatives—everyone was nodding and sighing “yes.” But when I said it was just as important to let go of our successes, our accomplishments, our grand prizes—all the positives—they looked at me as if I were suddenly speaking Swahili. Why would anyone let go of something good?
I once heard a story about an avid eagle watcher who spent hours in remote Alaskan wilderness tracking and observing eagles. (I’m drawn to this tale because I, too, can spend hours watching Bald Eagles hunt and fish in the waters off Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.) The man was watching “Boss,” the largest bird in the valley, riding thermals, rolling and rollicking on the wind. Suddenly Boss turned into a steep dive that took him to the ground. In a moment the eagle was beating its powerful wings, ascending into the sky with something large clutched in its talons.
The man trained his binoculars on this scene. In a few minutes, Boss began to swerve and fly erratically. It was hard to keep the eagle in his vision—he would rise, then careen wildly down. He flew crazily like this until finally he crashed into a cliff, spiralling down to the valley floor.
Intrigued, the man determined to find out what had caused this strange event. He hiked through rugged terrain to the place where he thought he had seen the eagle fall. After an hour’s search, he finally found the dead bird, the prey still grasped in its talons. Boss had snatched a badger, one of the most ferocious animals, and as it was being carried away that badger had gnawed the stomach of the eagle until its entrails fell to the ground. The man stood there stunned. He could hardly believe what was before him. The eagle had claimed its prize, but then in a wild reversal the prize had claimed him. Prey became predator, and the poor eagle could not let go.
We must learn to let go of our prizes—not so much our problems. We must learn to unhand our victories, our triumphs, our trophies and crowns. For a time they may be good and beautiful and life-giving, but they will almost always begin to gnaw away at our bellies.
Thanks David. Great post. Your writing has power because you know how to link a difficult truth to a simple, and in this case disturbing, picture. I won’t forget this one.
Yes, yes, yes. This is pertinent in so many areas of my life right now. Both for me and for others in my life. But HOW do we let go out positive outcomes and all the ego that is tied up in success? How do we stop ourselves from getting to the point of ruin?
Well, you can’t always avoid ruin, and if we can learn and grow from it–a litte ruin isn’t a bad thing. Every spiritual tradition calls people into some form of prayer and meditation, some practice that opens the awareness of the heart–it is in these moments that we begin to see that all the “positive” things are nice, but we don’t NEED them to know who we are and that we are loved–that’s the key. They’re nice when they come, but of course they always come and go. So prayer helps us to be a little less tied to all the things that come and go in life–what we consider the “good” and the “bad.” Because you don’t have to live too long before you realize that a lot of the “good” things we hoped for and worked for and finally attained weren’t finally what we wanted. And some of the “bad” things that befell us turned out to be strange gifts.
once again…thank you.
Very moving post. Lots to think about with this one.
Not only this post, but so many of the ones I have read are thought provoking, introspective and true. Thank you!
What a powerful story, Uncle David! Something I’ve learned recently, which seems related to this, is that you have to do the hard, grueling, and often gruesome inner work before you have even an inkling of the reward at the end, and that the works must be done in spite of having no “hope” for a changed situation in sight. And it seems that it’s only after the work has been done, the deep sacrifices made, the fires of transformation endured again and again, that the prize walks out of the fire, ready to be embraced, and more luminous that we could ever have imagined.
And then, of course, to grasp onto the prize, as the eagle grasped the badger, is such a temptation. But this would be putting the emphasis and the focus on the wrong place. What drew the prize to us was the work we did continually, in quiet, solitude and suffering. It’s the personal, inner work we must continue to grasp, to honor, to engage in. And as long as we do that, the prize is happy to go along for the ride 😉
Thanks for your beautiful words and inspiration!
Love
Lorna
Thanks, Lorna–all that inner work–yes. God has to work on us, work in us in darkness and silence and anonymity, because if we could see what was happening, we would reject it or try to control it. The ego really has no other option. So God has to sneak in under cover and do the work that changes and transforms us.
I left a reply several weeks ago when I first read your blog. The reply was “it’s about time”.
You are an inspiring writer and so happy that you are sharing your talent with your fam & friends.
PLS keep it up.