Teaching and Eagle to Fly

It is a part
Of being human,
I suppose,
The desire
To be taken care of,
To have all
Our worldly needs fulfilled.
As a parent of a child
We may want to
Be there for them,
To spoil them,
To give them
All the finest things,
Yet as they grow older
We want them to discover
The strengths
They never knew they had,
The ability to succeed,
The tenacity to overcome,
The independence of spirit
That comes with knowing
That they can
Do it on their own.
It is an age old question,
How do we teach
An eagle to fly?
If they never had to stretch
Their wings,
Would they learn to soar?
We can cultivate a chicken
Used to having everything provided,
Or we can set them free
So that they discover
The pleasure of being an eagle.