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DAVID BENTLEY'S WEEKLY COLUMN |
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RUBBER DUCKS CAN'T FLY!
There's a driveway in my neighborhood that often gets flooded when it rains. Between some potholes in the drive and the slope of the lot, a small lake forms after a steady rain. As a joke, someone put five rubber ducks in the lake after it appeared a couple of weeks ago. When the water receded, four ducks were left on dry land. One morning I discovered a young child intently studying the rubber ducks. I told her that there had been five ducks, but one was missing. She was stunned. I then asked what she thought happened to the other one. Her immediate response was, "Maybe it flew away." I quickly agreed, and our conversation ended as she ran into the house. Later that day, we met again at the driveway. I said to her, "Now if you find that other ducky, make sure you tell it to fly home." Immediately, the girl put her hands on her hips and retorted, "You silly! Rubber ducks can't fly." Then she got into the family van with her mother, fastened her seat belt, and left. Like most of us, this child is learning at an early age to move from using her imagination to being practical. Sometimes, however, imagination helps us solve problems that down-to-earth thinking can't solve by itself. Where would we be today if someone had convinced those silly young men with their flying machines that humans can't fly? Now I don't know where that fifth rubber duck went or how it got there. It's possible that a hungry dog ate it. Perhaps the duck got caught in a current, swept into a drain, and flushed into the harbor. Maybe a naughty boy punted it into the blackberry vines, thus having made it fly before being trapped in the thorns. There are hundreds of possibilities if we just don't give up completely on imagination.
© 2004 David Bentley David Bentley, M.Ed. & Personal Coach, coaches clients through the game of life, helping them find balance, clarity of direction, and purpose in an ever-changing world. You may contact him at 360.378.8436 by e-mail at david@coachbentley.com or visit his Web site: www.coachbentley.com |
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