Power To Choose: The Tale Of The Wise Old Man, A Young Boy And His Little Sparrow

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power to choose; the wise old man, the young man and his sparrow — Power To Choose

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
-Viktor Frankl

Once in a little remote village lived a wise old man to whom everybody turned for advice and direction. The old man was indeed gifted with wisdom and all who sought his counsel were blessed with deep, rich and relatable perspectives that helped them make their own wise choices.

One day a young boy decided to hatch a plan to trick the old man, ask him a question he couldn’t possibly get right and prove him not so wise for once. So the young boy went into the woods and caught a little sparrow, small enough to fit neatly in his closed fist. As he approached the wise old man, the youngster asked, “old man, can you tell what I have in my hand?”

Regarding the boy carefully, and observing the feathers sticking to his clothes, the old man replied, “Yes I can young chap. I can tell what you’re cradling in your hand.”

“What is it,” the boy asked.

“From the small feathers sticking to your hair and clothes, I am positive what you have in your hand is a small bird,” the wise old man said.

“You are correct, old man. But is the bird dead or alive?” the boy replied.

The old man paused and rubbed his beard, appearing to think carefully about his response. Then he pulled two chairs and beckoned the boy to sit. And taking a seat himself, the man looked the boy directly in the eye and said, “whether that bird is alive or dead lies in your power to choo se.

“If I say the bird is dead, you’ll open your palm and show me a live bird. If I say the bird is alive, you’ll squeeze it dead, open your palm and show me a dead bird. So you see, the answer to whether or not that bird is alive doesn’t lay with how knowledgeable or wise I am, it lies with your power to choose life or death for your bird.”

Astonished at how easily the old man had seen through his plan, the boy asked, “but how did you know my plan?”

“How I know is irrelevant,” the wise man replied, and smiling at his young companion, he continued, “what is relevant is for you to know that, as with that bird in your hand, you are ultimately in control of your life and responsible for the choices you make. So don’t go looking for answers outside of yourself like you tried to do with me today. Seek your answers within yourself.

“Of course you may seek help, counsel and direction from others but never absolve yourself of the personal responsibility of solving your own problems, healing or growing, because you have the power of choice.

“Don’t let anyone or anything victimize you to the point where you feel a sense of hopelessness or helplessness and begin to believe that your power to grow or not grow past any event lies outside of yourself. Within your power to choose your response lies immense freedom and growth, and with those, a gateway to contentment.

“So don’t divest yourself of that freedom, only to opt for self-pity and doubt, to the point where you begin to believe your life’s answers are out there – somewhere outside yourself.”

And with that the boy let the bird go, finally understanding that the wise man’s answer to his question was indeed irrelevant to whether he let the bird live or die.

So I ask you today, are you exercising your personal power to choose or are you cradling your bird and giving away your power?

And lastly before you, are you on a journey of personal enrichment and self-improvement? If so I recommend you check out my friends here. They have some rich courses that can help you on your journey. Their specific course on wielding your personal power can be found here.

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Adwoa Danso

I am a connoisseur of life stories, and writing is my first love. I believe we can empower, educate and uplift by telling our stories. Writing is my happy place.

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