A few days ago, I was reading a book and came across this beautiful story by George Reavis. It wonderfully illustrates how we can lose what we’re good at and love when we focus too much on things that don’t suit us. The story speaks for itself and, I believe, needs no further explanation.
The Animal School by George Reavis
“One day, the animals in the forest decided to start a school to address the problems of a ‘new world.’
They created a curriculum that included running, climbing, swimming, and flying. To make the curriculum easier to manage, all animals were required to take all subjects.
The rabbit excelled at running, even outperforming his teacher, but he only achieved average grades in flying and was very poor at swimming. Because he was so slow at swimming, he had to stay after school and also give up running to practice swimming. This continued until his feet were so worn out that he was only average at running. Average was acceptable in the school, so no one worried—except the rabbit.
The squirrel started out excelling at climbing but became frustrated with the flying lessons where his teacher forced him to start from the ground instead of from the tree. He also got muscle cramps from overexertion and eventually earned a C in climbing and a D in running.
The eagle was a problem child and was severely disciplined. In climbing class, he outperformed all others by flying to the treetop but insisted on using his own method.
At the end of the year, an abnormal eel who could swim very well and also run, climb, and fly a little had the highest average and was named valedictorian.
The prairie dogs stayed out of school and fought against the tax levy because the administration wouldn’t include digging and burrowing in the curriculum. They apprenticed their children to a badger and later joined the groundhogs and chipmunks to start a successful private school.
The moral of the story is that an education system that expects everyone to achieve the same in all areas ignores the individual strengths and differences of students and ultimately destroys the potential of each individual.”
In this sense—stay true to your skills and the things that come easily to you and bring you joy. And leave the rest to others who excel at those things. Wouldn’t we then live in a perfect world? I think so.
I wish you a wonderfully beautiful week.
