Breaking the Shell
This was THE gull…
This past weekend, my wife Barb and I were at out 30-year class reunion. On Saturday morning we met some friends and went down to a cool little cafe on the water to have breakfast. While we were waiting to be seated, I entertained myself by watching a seagull pick up shellfish, drop it on the rocks below, and then go down and take out the good stuff to eat. He would repeat this task several times as he instinctively knew that the easiest way to get through the hard shell to the good stuff was to smash it on rocks. Birds are pretty smart.
We should be so smart. With us humans, often all our good stuff is protected by a hard shell which is tough to get to as dropping us on rocks would be frowned upon. The protective shells we have are different than clams and mussels. Ours are called pride, fear, anxiety, hurt, trepidation, greed, and bitterness to name just a few. These shells hide the good stuff within us that has so much to offer on a daily basis. The really sad thing is that once our day is done, we don’t get it back and what’s lost can never be reclaimed. The longer and more steadfast we are in keeping our shell intact, the less we give back to the world.
Take a tip from my seagull pal. Understand the principle of getting to the good stuff in the quickest and easiest way possible. Smash the shell and open up your good stuff to your family, friends, colleagues, and clients. That’s what I call going to the birds…
© 2013 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
This week’s quote –
“Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn’t people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them?”
– Rose Kennedy
