The Chicken Chronicles: Minerva Boldly Goes Where Others Dare To Dream

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

Anais Nin

I’m trying to picture in my mind what Evel Knievel was like as a child. How about Amelia Earhart, or Charles Lindberg, or even Lewis & Clark for that matter? Did they lead “normal childhoods” or did they leap from tall buildings and risk life and limb when they were ten? Can you imagine their poor parents, constantly frightened out of their gourds that their little toddler might at that very moment be climbing the tallest tree for no other reason than because it is there waiting for them?

Those of us who are mere mortals shake our heads when we think of risk-taking that borders on life-threatening. What in the world are those people thinking? Why would they do that? Have they lost their minds?

I raise all these questions because right outside my studio, not ten feet from where I am sitting, is Minerva, our Hawk Girl, sitting atop the fence trying to decide whether to fly into the neighbor’s yard or stay here with the rest of the flock.

The smart money says she will take the flight.

And perhaps that is the problem!

Minerva has practically no wattle. She really doesn’t look like a chicken and in fact looks like the bastard stepchild of some dashing hawk…thus her nickname, the Hawk Girl.

To add further proof to the hawk theory, Minerva is our flyer. She discovered at a very early age that the shortest distance between two points is accomplished through flight and not waddling along like the rest of the pack. She can be seen flying to and fro, always on reconnaissance flights over the backyard, flapping her wings for all she is worth in an attempt to add to her already established distance records. She is the golden missile of our flock, the Star Trek wannabe who has never seen a fence that could pen her in.

But it is not her propensity for flight that makes her special but rather her need to push the limits and take chances that really makes her memorable.

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”

T. S. Eliot

Minerva was the one who first escaped the chick enclosure. Minerva was the one who first nested on top of the coop. Minerva was the one who decided at an early age that blue eggs are much prettier than brown eggs. Minerva was the one who was constantly looking for weaknesses in the fence, testing, prodding, and stretching the limits of the netting. Yes, Minerva was the one who was a royal pain in the butt but oh so very entertaining.

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”

e. e. cummings

The grass is always greener on the other side. This is the credo by which Minerva leads her life. She firmly believes, or so I surmise, that life is for living and not for whiling away the hours in pursuit of the mundane and boring. She senses, or again so I surmise, that her life span is a short one, so why the hell not live it with gusto and experience all that she can in the short time she has left.

Some chickens see things as they are and ask why; Minerva sees things that never were and asks why not. Is there danger in this attitude? For sure! Are there risks one must face when one is driven to the outer limits? Most definitely! There are dogs on the other side of those fences. There are cats, possums, raccoons and all manner of threats awaiting our brave Minerva, but still she is not deterred.

Her brothers and sisters watch her in awe. Theirs are safe lives, lived within the confines of our backyard. Their meals are delivered, the heat lamp guaranteed, and as long as they play it safe they know that safety will embrace them….but….observe the flock long enough and you can see the furtive glances, the sparks of jealousy and quite frankly, the confusion they must feel as Minerva does those things they dare not do and receives the rewards they will never know.

“Fear stifles our thinking and actions. It creates indecisiveness that results in stagnation. I have known talented people who procrastinate indefinitely rather than risk failure. Lost opportunities cause erosion of confidence, and the downward spiral begins.”

Charles Stanley

For when Minerva’s final days are upon her, and she is clucking her last cluck, she will be able to look back over the landscape of her life and know it was a life well-lived. She will have no regrets. She will not be haunted by the shouldas, couldas and wouldas of life, for she will have wrung every damn drop of enjoyment from her time spent on this planet. There will be no wistfulness during her last days. There will be no sweet melancholy over opportunities wasted. There will only be a smile on that majestic face, a smile born from the knowledge that she never once cheated herself and she always made her potential her reality.

Who among you would like to walk in Minerva’s shoes for just one day? Who among you would love to know the satisfaction of achieving all that you could achieve? Who among you would like to leave a legacy of fulfillment and gratification for having lived the kind of life you were born to live?

Dream it and then live it. Six simple words that Minerva would like to pass on to you all. Dream it and then live it. Visualize success and then become that success. Think positive thoughts and then live those positive thoughts. Imagine stretching the limits and then stretch them. Cast off the self-imposed shackles, grab life by the balls, and then live it to the fullest.

The words of Minerva!

"A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world."
Oscar Wilde

As I look out my window I can’t see Minerva. The others are scratching and pecking, digging at the sod in hopes of finding an unsuspecting bug for breakfast, but where is Minerva? Oh, wait, quiet now…listen carefully. Do you hear it? It’s the sound of wings furiously flapping as The Hawk Girl sets course for yet another adventure. Her egg has been laid for the day. She rose early and ate while the others wiped the sleep from their eyes. Her chores are finished and it is time to play….it is time to explore…it is time to……

Live life to the fullest!

God bless the Minervas of the world!

2013 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”