Taking flight

Photo Randy Vanderveen Grande Prairie, Alberta Tundra swans take flight from a wet area in a field north of Grande Prairie.It takes hard work to get off the ground when you are a big bird like a swan. However, the effort is worth it for migration purposes, safety, getting to food etc.

The same is true for us.

Those things that are most rewarding take effort on our part to accomplish.

Anyone who has watched swans trying to teach their young to fly in fall, can't help but wonder how the birds do it. While the young of other species have been flying since the end of summer. Swans don't start their flying lessons until mid fall at the earliest and then one of their first tasks after successfully learning to use their wings it to migrate to wintering grounds in Montana and Wyoming. It sometimes seems a bit unfair.

However, without successfully taking flight and migrating the birds would never survive the winters in the northern part of Canada. Their return in the spring shows they learned their lessons well.

Often for me it is difficult to put in the full effort I know is necessary to accomplish things I need to do — whether it is exercising, losing weight or even improving my photography.

But without making that full effort, I know I will fail. What about you? Are you putting your hard work and dedication into the things you know need to be accomplished in your life? Physically? Mentally? Emotionally? Spiritually? In your relationships? I guess sometimes we need "flying lessons in our own lives"?

 What kind of lessons are you learning when it comes to improving your craft or your life?