Their feathers are just too restless, and their songs too impatient and wild to stay suppressed. And if you confine them, they will find their way, someday, when you open them for fresh air. They will fly away, and this time it won’t be close enough, it will be far, far away. Because the taste of freedom is something you cannot simply forget even if you lose it.
Leonardo Da Vinci has always affected me a lot, by the things he has said and done. He is one of those few people who will say things that make you feel like “Oh, oh…He stole my words!” And he did the same with me when he said, “Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” You know how you never want to ride to office by a scooter once you've bought a car? And you never want to go back to that little person who you were, once you've become a big person? You will never like that stale bread if a pizza is kept beside it. You will always try to reach the higher level of happiness once you've tasted it. No one wants to climb down one step on the ladder while they can see how nice it is up there.
But when do we fly? Do humans have wings? Invisible ones? Birds fly when they’re not caged, when they’re able to freely flutter their wings and have no boundaries. Humans fly when they can be who they are, without any limitations, without rules, without conditions, without intrusion. They are in cage when they cannot speak up, not that someone puts a tape on their mouth and doesn't let them speak. They simply do not have the kind of heart that lets them take a free flight. One cannot fly until they allow themselves to.
One must forget all the limitations if they wish to fly. They must flutter their wings, they must have faith. For birds and humans are no different, the only difference is the faith. We must believe that we can fly, that we are free, and that we won’t fall once we fly. We will be able to fly only till the time we have faith in the strength of our wings. And will lose them once we lose the faith. Everyone on this planet is completely equal to each other, and no one can stop anyone else from doing what they want to do. God has given the same amount of strength to everyone, some have accumulated it in their brains, some in their bodies, and some in their hearts.
And the strongest ones are those who have it all in their hearts. They have those invisible, big, white wings all the time. You just can’t see it, but they’re as big and strong as an Albatross. You can get them too, once you gather all your strength and accumulate it in your hearts, making your will strong and bold, and shooing away your fears. You just need to spread the wings, and flap them. And they will fly so high, so fast, and so strong no one will ever be able to cage them. Forget about the cage. The cage doesn't even exist. The cage is just your fear. The cage is just a figment of your imagination. You need to break the cage, spread your wings, smile, and fly. Because some birds can simply never be caged.
