Many people misinterpret this story. Many think the story is about being ugly and magically becoming beautiful. Many try to apply this inappropriate logic to their lives. Hoping beyond hope, that they will one day transform into something better than they are. They miss the true point of this story. The most important part of this story is that the ugly duckling is not a duck. It is a swan that hatched from within a duck's nest. It wasn't ugly and then turned beautiful. It was always beautiful. It wasn't a duck who then turned into a swan. It was always a swan. It just needed to realize this. Once the little swan realized that it was literally a completely different bird, all its duck problems went away. It could be itself freely. It found that it wasn’t ugly after all. It was actually beautiful the whole time! The story is about finding who you really are.
That is the point of this Blog. It's to help you realize that you are already a Beautiful Swan. In order to do that, you must first understand that You Are Not A Duck!
Just a Swan living in a Duck world.
If you are like me you will have to realize that so far you have been living in a Duck world. In the story, the little swan was born and lived among ducks. It didn't realize it wasn't one of them. In fact, it was never told that it wasn’t a duck. The ducks just wondered why the little swan was such a strange duck.
Some of us Swans are living like Ugly Ducks.
If you have ever hidden a part of yourself, or felt too self-conscious to do things your way, that is what it feels like to be an Ugly Duck. If you have been made to feel that your ideas are wrong, or that your not “good enough,” that is how it feels to be an Ugly Duck. Having a big area of your life where you just can't get it right but everyone else does easily, that is was it means to be an Ugly Duck. When you have your own way of doing things but no one believes in you, you're living as an Ugly Duck.
The word “ugly” represents your own personal struggle. This term can refer to the ways in which you do not “meet” the standards placed upon you. It can also mean the way others treat you when you’re following your own path instead of sticking to the status quo. This can be anything for you. It can represent your looks, talents, passions, personal choices, and so on. You see, there are Duck rules on how the world works. By this I mean, how the Duck World works. As you come to accept that you’re a Swan you will simultaneously have to accept that the world as you know it is the Duck World.
Think of something in your life where you don't feel like you are living up to society's standards (or your parent's standards). In this case, it can be something that feels right to you but everyone tells you is wrong. For example, if your family wants you to be a doctor, but you want to be an artist. The feeling you have that makes you want to be an artist, that's you having a Swan moment. The feeling you get when no one supports your decision is your Ugly Duck moment. Everything that feels right, comes easily and excites you points towards your Swan Path.
Many people live as partial Swans, partial Ugly Ducks. Following your dreams in any way is being a Swan. Living at subpar to Duck Standards is being an Ugly Duck. Example: Starving Artists. Being an artist is being a Swan. However, starving is being an Ugly Duck. There is a common occurrence experienced by partial swans/partial ugly ducks. Other Swans will say that the artwork is AMAZING and that it could really make one successful. On the other hand, Ducks will look at the same work and say, yeah it's good but look for something that pays the bills. So the person living as a partial swan/partial ugly duck becomes confused and remains living this partial lifestyle. I imagine this represents the most common type of Swan living in the Duck world.
The above statement is probably the most important thing to remember as you head down your Swan Path. The second important thing to remember is of course that you are not a Duck. Swans and Ducks are completely different birds. Ducks do not understand Swans. So anything you do that is Swan-like is going to appear strange or “ugly” to Ducks.
I don't mean to imply that Ducks are the bad guys. They are normal people. Ducks are the people who are comfortable with life the way it is. All they want is the security of a 9-5 job and that’s pretty much it. They accept what they have been told about the world. It’s not that they are afraid of taking other paths in life (like many Ugly Ducks are). They just don’t believe that any other way exists. They are comfortable to live the rest of their lives from that perspective. You find real Ducks living in every kind of circumstance, from impoverished to wealthy, and they accept their place in the pecking order. The harm comes when Swans live where Ducks are the majority. Ducks aren’t aware that there are different types of birds. They will dissuade you from your Swan Path because they don’t know that other birds need different styles of living. They will think of you as strange and tell you that your way of doing things is wrong. Swans being told that they are wrong is what brings on the experience of being Ugly Ducks. From there it is only one step away from giving in to Duck Standards.
There are people who I call Honorary Ducks. The Honorary Ducks live good Duck lives, but are suffering from Ugly Duck syndrome on the inside. They may make a decent living and appear fine on the outside but have Swan desires that go unfulfilled. Those are the people who do things because it’s what they are supposed to do.
Then there are those Swans I like to call Honorary Chickens. They are the Ugly Ducks who are afraid of doing anything that strays from the Duck Status Quo. They would never take a chance and will discourage you from doing so either. Trust me, they want to. They want to believe in you and themselves but are too scared. They would rather live like Ugly Ducks. Hence - they are Chickens LOL.
No Swan is happy being a Duck - whether Partial, Chicken, Honorary, or Ugly. No Swan is happy following Duck Rules. Imagine a real life swan hunched over, and scrunching down to shorten it's neck to look like a duck. It will always be uncomfortable. The only thing it will achieve is a crook in the neck lol. You don't have to try hard to be a Swan. You don't turn into a Swan through sheer strength of will or longing. You just relax and extent your neck. You'll find you can see a lot farther ahead than you're used to. You don't turn into this awesome creature. You were born this awesome creature. You are not a Duck.
It is important for you to repeat this to yourself: “I am not a Duck.” Yes you will also need to remember to say: “I am a Swan.” However, at this early stage you don’t even know what a Swan is, being that you live in Duck Society. Right now, it is important to remind yourself that most of the things you accept as being true, true about yourself and the world, is incorrect. Those rules you are living by do not apply to you. You are not a Duck.
Some people would say that if you live in Duck Society you have to live by their rules. That is something a Duck or Ugly Duck would say. This shows a limitation on one’s perception and beliefs. Swans do their own thing. There are Swan Societies. You have been living in Duck Society. You do not have to continue living there. You belong somewhere.
Swans are the people who lead amazing lives. They are the one’s who become mega successes in life. Most Swans will tell you they took a leap of faith and jumped off the mountain top. When they did, they discovered they had wings and could carry themselves on the wind. They are the people in the world who you admire for doing incredible things. Take note of these people because they are your Swan Role Models. They are the people who paved their own unique way in life. They didn’t take the path of the Ducks. These role models tend to be people who have reached a high level in their journey’s. We regular Swans are in the early stages of our journey’s. We are just now understanding that we are not Ducks.
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Now if any of this makes sense to you, then you are a Swan in need of a change of perspective. However, if none of this resonates with you and life makes sense the way it is, then you are likely a Duck. If you are a Duck then carry on as you were. I don’t think I can help you with anything. There are many Duck Manuals out there to tell you what’s right and wrong, and how to live your life. This Blog is for Swans.
This is very inspirational ~ from your Grand Mother
ReplyDeleteThanks Grand Mother! ~ Raine-Skyy
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