The Eagle was chosen for the business logo as it is anticipated the business will attract those of you that have the determination to overcome the difficulties of life, that is regardless of how this life tosses you out of your comfort zone. It will also attract visionaries, many of whom have experienced your own trials and adversity.

So why the eagle?

Firstly, because the eagle builds its nest on the firm foundation of the rock before laying its two or three eggs. When the baby eaglets are born, with great determination placed in them by their maker from the very beginning, they peck and peck at their shells until they finally break through. This tenacity and determination is intended to prepare them for the adversities they will encounter in their lives and therefore, they must learn to continue trying to overcome obstacles in their development, so they are equipped to survive the mature lives intended for them.

Baby eagles spend their first three months of life in the comfort and stability of the nest. There they are adequately provided for with regularity and certainty. Then comes the sudden “stir up of the nest”. The reason the nest is stirred is that the mother wants the baby eaglets to get out and fly. She knows that she has a responsibility to teach them to fly or they will not survive! Subsequently, all the comfortable material in the nest is removed and the eaglets are left to sit on bare sticks and thorns.

Does this sound all too familiar? Are you feeling things are getting stirred up in your nest right now? Are you feeling just a little uncomfortable now?

With the comfort stripped away, the mother can then become more proactive, so she starts to nudge the eaglets out of the nest. The eaglets have no idea how to fly, despite the fact they were born to fly. However, the mother knows they are capable and so in love she encourages them in this way. After she nudges them out of the nest and allows them to feel the resistance they are to learn to soar with, she quickly sweeps under the eaglets and catches them as they fall. At this point the mother returns the eaglets to the nest, only to nudge them out of the nest again. The process is repeated again, until the eaglets finally understand that there is no other option, they have no choice but to fly because this is why they were created. The mother encourages them in this as she wants them to have an abundant life, the best life they can. Most eaglets will never leave the nest without a nudge.

It seems fair to say, that the majority of us as humanity, would also choose comfort over challenge and stretching until we have no other option too. Can I ask you now, do you feel that there is a work going on in your life right now? Are the comforts that once encapsulated you being removed? Is it perhaps your time to heed the nudge and begin to fly? Is it time to do what you were created for and born to do?

The eagle develops some independence at about 12 months of age and lives life for about another three years, continuing to grow in stature as an eagle and in strength, all the while continually improving its abilities. This period of time establishes the eagle. However, when an eagle is around four years of age, it instinctively begins to change.

After four years, in the midst of its growth stage, the eagle begins to realize that it was not created to live only for itself, and this internal change results in the eagle desiring to make its life about more than itself. At that stage, the male eagle leaves to find a female and when he finds one, they begin a game of testing. The female soars high in the sky and the male begins to follow her course.

They play a game that can go on for days where the female picks up twigs, flies to about 10,000 feet and drops the twig. The male dives to catch the twig and takes it back to her but this she ignores. Instead, she does the same with larger and larger branches, until finally, with a large branch the female can only fly about 500 feet above ground level before dropping the branch. If the male catches the branch at that time, they will spend the rest of their days together but only after one final test. She flies high and mid-air flips onto her back and raises her talons. The male moves over her and locks talons with her and together they fall to the ground below. The male has made up his mind, he is committed and would rather die than let her go. Now they mate for life and neither of them has another mate unless one of them dies. Should the female die, it is then that the male raises the young. The male continues to court the female eagle for the rest of their lives, long after their courtship days are over.

Are you like the eagle, someone who has an unshakable commitment? Are you someone who likes to see things through to the finish, someone who will not give up? Is this kind of radical commitment to a cause something that you want to develop in your life? The kind that follows through even though it may cost you? Think of the eagle that remains committed, regardless of the fact there is a cost to him, that could affect his life. Think of how fulfilled those eagles are in life because he made that ultimate choice to commit and be all in.

Do you know that an eagle also knows how to make their strength work for them? An eagle commences every day by preening itself. It positions itself on a solid rock and it passes as many as 1,200 feathers, one by one through its mouth, exhaling oil from a gland located near its tail. Daily the mature eagle spends about an hour reconditioning, waterproofing and preparing for the flying it will do each day. This preparation is imperative to survival and enables the eagle to function at its optimum capacity daily. I often wonder if some people never gain the strength to soar because they do not make time in their schedule to prepare themselves to be the best version of themselves, they can possibly be every day?

Like humanity, as eagles grow more mature, they are not as quick as they once were. Their flight is slower, their talons grow dull, calcifications form on their beak, their feathers show wear and tear and then make a distinct whistling noise when they dive for their prey. Naturally they are still eagles but they lose much of their strength and vitality. I know as people, we can sometimes feel like that too. When this occurs however, unlike majority of us humans, the eagle determines to ‘refresh and revolutionise’ itself so it can continue to live life to its fullest capacity.

Once again the eagle settles on a high rock and gets in as close proximity to the sun as it can. The eagle then begins to shed its weight by plucking out its feathers one by one. An eagle can shed up to 7,000 feathers during this process. This can be a painful process for the eagle, but the eagle is not concerned with the pain, instead the eagle is more concerned with the progress. The eagle then seeks a cool, refreshing stream in which to clean itself. The flowing water washes away the built-up mud, dirt, parasites and insects that may have collected over time. Then after this cleansing process, the eagle who is now fresh, clean, and free of all unnecessary encumbrances, stands before the sun and waits.

The regrowth phase can take about forty days and during this time the eagle ensures its time is fruitful. It sharpens its talons and beak by rubbing them backwards and forwards on the rock and it uses that same rock to beat the calcifications off its beak. Other eagles who are aware of this revolutionising process, may drop food to the eagle. The eagle must go through a quiet season of relative self-absorbed refinement, or apparent weakness, before finally its strength is then fully renewed. Those who rise up will soar on wings like eagles.

I believe we can learn something from this process the eagle endures. I believe that each of you is capable of revolutionising yourself if you are willing, though you may need to take a lesson from the eagle and set aside a period of refreshing and revolutionising renewal. If you do, remember to be committed and determined, and you will renew your strength, for those who rise up will soar on wings like eagles. As you do, you will be empowered to keep going without giving up. You will fulfill the purpose for which you were created for.

Are you like the eagle, ready to be stirred to action, ready to be revolutionised and renewed so that you can soar?

Are you ready to become the best version of yourself that you were created to be?

Do you instinctively know that you want your life to be more than about yourself?

Do you know that it is your time to fly?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions, why not contact Founder, Pioneer and Strategist, Tracey L Cane today, to see how A Touch of TLC can assist you.