A PENGUIN OF THE CAGE

Hey there, this time Iris has a short and uncomplicated story to share. A story through which she will attempt to explain a lesson she learned, hoping it helps someone who needs to read this right now.

Once there was a penguin who was called Novel. He lived in a zoo park where thousands of people visited him because he was the best one in the lot. Everyone loved his tricks and called him the king penguin. Many people specially visited the Zoo to see this unique penguin. The other penguins were highly jealous of him, and they often wondered what he had that they lacked and why do they not have a fan following like him. Novel used to work extra to be on stage, making him very tired every day. He missed having an everyday life and often wondered why he had no friends and time to relax like other penguins in the Zoo. He was very envious of the comfortable life that the penguins had.

One day, Novel had the privilege of joining penguins from the ice mountain nearby who lived in a natural habitat for a show. He was so jealous of all the penguins in the wild who got to live there and experience freedom and everyday life, which every penguin deserved. Why am I caged in this Zoo? He thought to himself. I wish I could escape.

In many penguins of the ice land, a female penguin liked to be called Carla! Carla was a natural in the wild. She adopted well after her release from the Zoo, enjoyed playing in the snow, and found herself lucky to live like an ordinary penguin every day. That’s what Novel thought. But, after her release from the Zoo, she missed home and her friends so much. Being part of that protected environment since birth, it became hard for her to get used to no humans and all animals around, some who wanted to be her friend and some who just wanted to kill her. She was still adjusting, and finding food was a struggle for her. Looking at Novel from the Zoo, who would return to that safe space once his act is done, made Carla envious of him.

At this moment, all the penguins were envious of each other for reasons that did not exist, and they thought that the other had the life of dreams.
This story was just a short example of how we function in ordinary life. Yet, looking at this at a glance, it seems crazy how unsatisfied we can be with all we have, how envious we can be of what other has, and just long for what is not ours while completely neglecting the fact that what we have is what someone longs for today.

In my opinion, constant complaining and anxiety about something that we don’t have or have no control over corrupts the experiences that our reality is willing to offer. It almost becomes very late until we realize we have invested in this loop. A loop that never ends but just intensifies with time.
If Novel had taken some time to appreciate his popularity, talent, and environment that he was protected in, he would have never been so dissatisfied with what he had and just assumed that he lacked something in life.

Being satisfied doesn’t mean settling and not long for more, but it means being happy in what is a result of all the efforts you have made so far and being confident that something great is always in store for you like it is right now, at this very moment. We don’t realize the times we affect our mental peace by obsessing over what we don’t have, not knowing that we will even be happy if we have it.
Trust me, just realizing this and living a simple life is the solution to many problems. All you need to do is stop running in the race and start being your person with an individual life utterly different from others. It is hard sometimes when all you want is a long catch. And then, you see everyone getting what they have always longed for. Still, if you appreciate your life’s uniqueness and experiences, knowing they are made just for you because only you can live through them with grace and lessons to take, you will receive faster than you would have imagined. It’s all about the energies you release subconsciously, which get back to you in the form of blessings.

Someone else’s life might look good to you today, and you might want that hair that girl has, or that car or that person’s family. But, still, when you look closely, you’ll realize you are exactly where you should be, doing exactly what you should. So there is no point in covetous because what makes living beautiful is that each of us has different stories and journeys, which makes this world one big story we call life.
So never undermine your home only because what you see from far looks like where you belong because you never know they might be looking right back at you, longing to find an address in your street, and at the end of the day, right here is the only where you are supposed to be.