The Sun and The Quail
A short story on self-love, self-compassion and self-worth
It was a spring day — the birds were chirping, the morning dew was starting to evaporate, and the nocturnal animals were making their way to their dens and burrows.
As the sun began his journey into the sky, he took notice of a winged creature down by the river — a quail sitting in solitude, with tears running down his feathered body.
The sun, though typically most comfortable up in the sky, decided that he would pay the quail a visit.
With one giant leap, the sun fell from the sky and landed next to the quail.
The quail, frightened, jumped back and let out a screech.
The sun exclaimed: “Oh my! Do not be afraid — I am the sun! Here to warm you and nourish you and provide you with light as the darkness takes its rest. I was watching you from up above and saw that you were all alone and crying. Speak to me my dear quail friend. What is fueling your sorrow?”
The quail stammered: “Well…uh…I mean, can’t you see? I left my flock because I’m sad, and I don’t know what to do!”
With that admission, the quail broke down in even more tears.
The sun replied: “Well what could possibly make you SO sad?”
The sun sat patiently as he listened to the quail share his story.
The quail wiped away his tears and replied: “Humans keep me as pets. Farmers raise me for my eggs and my meat. And hunters hunt me for sport and bait! I thought my existence was bigger. I thought I was more important than that. I shed these tears and weep for more, because I want the humans and the farmers and the hunters to know that I am worthy!“
The sun smiled gently, and allowed his rays to grow stronger. His warmth and light began to envelop the quail.
With barely a whisper, the sun leaned in and said to the quail: “You are looking for acceptance from people who don’t value you to begin with. You can’t change the minds of those who’ve already decided your worth.”
The quail sniffled and looked up at the sun: “What…what do you mean?”
The sun said: “The humans are going to always be humans. The farmers are going to always be farmers. And the hunters are always going to be hunters. And you will always be a quail. They’ve already decided who you are to them. But why would you ever let them decide how YOU see and feel about yourself? They aren’t you. You have access to this beautiful river, the wind is lightly brushing your feathers, you have the sun next to you bringing you warmth, and you have an abundance of bugs and critters to feast on! Why isn’t that enough? Why isn’t that a life worth living?“
The quail began to wipe the tears from his eyes.
The sun chuckled lightly: “If I allowed others to convince me that my purpose was to shine just like the moon, then I wouldn’t be able to do my job — I wouldn’t be able to illuminate the daylight. I would be too busy trying to be the moon! And I’d miss all of the ways that my magic, my rays, bring their own unique purpose to this world. The moon does such a beautiful job at illuminating our paths in the darkness, and allowing space for our nocturnal friends to hunt and find safety. But I also have my purpose for when the moon retreats beyond the horizon. There are those who love and venerate the moon. And there are those who love and venerate the sun. But either way, I know my purpose. I know the ways that I am meant to shine. And I will complete that purpose every single day, regardless of what others may think.”
The quail sat up and began to slow his breath as he looked out at the river.
With a gentle smile, the quail turned to the sun and said: The humans and the farmers and the hunters want me for their purpose. And although I can’t change that, I can recognize that I don’t have to have the same purpose or ideas as they do. Their agendas dictate how they see me, but not how I SEE ME. I get to stay grounded in how I see myself — in how I shine. Their reflection is not mine.”
The sun stayed there for a few moments longer, allowing his rays and warmth to fill up the quails heart. Once he felt the quail had received an abundance of light, he began to slowly make his way back into the sky.
As he rose to the top of the sky, he heard the faint celebratory cries of the quail’s flock below…
“Where were you? We missed you!”
“We were so worried about you!”
“What would we have done without you?”
“You bring us so much wisdom, we are SO happy to see you!”
”We have so many new ideas for how we want to grow our flock, we want to know what you think!”
The sun smiled and continued on his journey.