Once upon a time, near the top of a tall tree in the middle of a great forest, there was a nest. This nest had been built with great care by Mama Bird, for it would be a place of safety and refuge for her little ones. After the nest was finished, she laid three beautiful eggs in the soft center. Day after day she cared for the eggs, knowing that they held new little birds, just like her.

Inside one of the eggs, a baby bird began to awaken. Her name was Nola and somehow she already knew she was different. She was curious and wanted to understand this comfortable but confining world in which she lived. She would move and stretch, but as she grew inside the egg, things began to feel less and less comfortable, and Nola began to get restless.

One day she couldn’t take it any longer. She could hardly move, hardly breathe, and just had to do something. So she stretched and pushed and banged against the walls of her reality until they began to crack. Suddenly there was sunlight! And fresh air! And the most beautiful Being she could possibly imagine, smiling down on her with total love.

As Nola struggled to get out of her egg, her little body grew tired, but she was happy now – and free! She had escaped that place of such tight limitation. Mama Bird smiled at the limp little body before her. She picked up the scraps of eggshell and took them away, which seemed quite a miracle to Nola. Then, as Mama Bird flew away to find breakfast, Nola watched in amazement. “This must be an angel,” she thought. “Look at those wings, look how she can do so many magical things, certainly much more than I can do.”

As the days passed, Mama Bird kept Nola and her brothers safe and well fed. Sometimes they got into problems with each other, but then Mama would come home and settle things. It was a good life, and they loved Mama. She was magical, always appearing at the perfect time, always solving their problems and taking care of everything.

Then one day there was a storm. The wind blew like never before, the tree creaked and groaned as it swayed in the wind. Nola was afraid. She was bigger now, and could stand up in the nest, sometimes even sit on the edge and look out at the big world out there. But with this storm, she was frightened. What if the wind blew her out of the nest? She had seen glimpses of the ground far below, and watched pinecones fall and break as they crashed down. She feared falling more than anything else, so during the storm she was very careful to stay deep inside the nest, as far out of the wind as possible.

But as she grew, Mama told her that one day she would learn to fly too. “You’re a Bird also, dear Nola,” Mama would say. “See? You have wings, you’re just like me.” Nola would nod and say, “Yes, Mama,” but she didn’t really believe it. She had learned to walk around the nest and that was good enough for her. She would leave the flying to Mama, and the other REAL birds she had seen flying among the trees.

But Mama knew it was almost time, and she told her babies that soon there would be flying lessons. They worried about that, because they didn’t know how it worked or what it would be like. Their nest was safe, Mama always brought food, and they had everything they needed. Why would they ever want to leave? But Nola was also growing curious about this flying business. Was it really possible for her to fly like Mama – without crashing to the ground? She thought that would be very wonderful, but didn’t really believe she would be able to do it. She was quite strong now, but a gust of wind could still topple her over.

One beautiful sunny day Nola was sitting on the edge of the nest, enjoying the warm summer air. Mama flew over to her and said, “It’s time to fly, dear Nola. I’ve taught you everything I can, now you must do it for yourself.”

Nola just sat there, all kinds of feelings going through her. She was excited because the day had finally come, but she was also very worried. What if she DIDN’T know how? What if her wings didn’t work like Mama’s? What if she forgot everything Mama had taught her over the last 10 weeks? What if… what if the wind started blowing? Suddenly Mama gave her a push. “Mama!” she screamed. “Time to fly, dear,” Mama said, and gave her stronger push. Nola nearly lost her balance, and as she stretched her wings to right herself, Mama lurched forward and pushed Nola right over the edge.

Everything seemed to happen at once. Nola could hardly catch her breath. Tumbling through the air, she instinctively spread her wings to find her balance, and bumped into a branch. She panicked for a moment and thought she had crashed to the ground. But she kept falling and tumbling and as her wings spread out again, she felt a new sensation. The warm summer air pushed gently against her body, filling the space beneath her wings with a gentle pressure. She realized she wasn’t tumbling any more and opened her eyes (they had been squeezed tight shut since she had hit the branch) and found herself gliding low over the forest floor. She hadn’t crashed, in fact – she was flying!!

Nola gingerly moved her wings, beginning to get the feel of how this worked. She came to a low branch and tried to land, but was going too fast. After a bit of tumbling she aimed herself toward another one, and this time managed to grab on and stop with only a little wobble. Suddenly, Mama Bird was beside her. “You did wonderful, dear! Just spend some more time practicing and you’ll be flying as well as me.”

Mama Bird let Nola spend a few more nights in the nest, and then told her, “Tomorrow will be my last day with you. You’re ready to be on your own. I’ve taught you everything I can, the world is ready for you and you are ready for it.” Nola didn’t sleep very well that night.

The next morning dawned cold and cloudy, and Nola could feel a storm coming. The wind was beginning to blow and she wished she could huddle down in the bottom of the nest like she used to. But Mama said, “Come Nola, it’s time to fly.” The wind picked up, and things started blowing around. It was the worst storm Nola had ever seen and she was frightened, holding onto the edge of the nest even tighter. But Mama didn’t seem worried at all, in fact she seemed excited!

“Nola, let me tell you a secret,” Mama said. “The world is changing right now and this is the season for storms, but you will be safe if you know what to do. Instead of hanging onto the nest or a tree branch, or trying to hide away from the wind, face into it. Feel it with your whole body, let it ruffle your feathers and get in your eyes. Then, when you don’t think you can handle any more – let go. Let it carry you away, and it will take you higher than you’ve ever been. You will fly farther than you’ve ever gone – and it will be easy. Feel the wind, feel the chaos, don’t fight it. Instead, let it lift you to the sky. You will discover the most amazing freedom.”

Nola remembered a conversation she had heard from some passing humans a few weeks before. They had been talking about eating elephants (Nola love to eat but had no idea what an elephant was) and about letting go and feeling it all. For some reason, what Mama Bird was saying sounded a little bit like that.

Nola decided to trust Mama, for she knew Mama was very wise. More importantly, Nola knew she could trust her own wings. She took a deep breath, told Mama Bird something that only the two of them could hear, and with the next giant gust of wind, she let go and joined the storm.

Mama Bird watched as Nola flew higher and higher. She knew Nola would have wonderful adventures and see beautiful things, and that one day Nola would teach her own little ones how to just let go and feel it all. And as Nola disappeared into the sky, Mama knew she was a very special bird, for she had the heart of a Shaumbra.