Throughout history and across many cultures, the eagle has been seen as a symbol of strength, higher vision and endurance. Eagles have long been associated with the highest pursuits. Eagles are the masters of the skies. The eagle has the longest life-span of its species. It can live up to 70 years. But to reach this age, the eagle must make a hard decision. In its 40’s, its long and flexible talons can no longer grab prey which serves as food. Its long and sharp beak becomes bent, making it difficult to feed. Its old-aged and heavy wings, due to their thick feathers, become stuck to its chest and make it difficult to fly - what was once a flight of grace and beauty has become clumsy. Thus, the eagle is left with only two options: either die or go through a painful process of change which lasts one hundred and fifty days. 

The process requires strength wherein the eagle flies to a mountaintop and sits on its nest: a place of refuge for trials to come. There the eagle knocks its beak against a rock until it is plucked out. After plucking it out, the eagle will wait for a new beak to grow back. The eagle’s next task will be the agonizing process of ripping away old talons that make it impossible to hunt. When its new talons grow back, the eagle starts plucking its old-aged and greasy feathers that hindered its flight. And after five months, its period of renewal and rebirth, the eagle takes its famous flight again and lives for 30 more years, the second part of its existence.



Why is change needed? Many times, in order to survive we have to start a change process. We sometimes need to get rid of old memories, habits and other past traditions. Only freed from past burdens can we take advantage of the present. We also have to face hard decisions that lead us to the need of a rebirth process. To embrace challenges and changes is never an easy assignment. The transition from one state to another is rarely effortless. Sometimes, it is even very painful. In order to take a new journey ahead, let go of your negative limiting beliefs. Open up your fixed mindset and let yourself fly high again like an eagle.