Kim Gaskill watches an egret hunt in Arizona cornfields and reflects on how we choose to see challenges. The bird treats flooded fields as opportunity, not obstacle. How we frame difficulty shapes what we're willing to pursue.
It's a beautiful day here in Arizona. I'm Kim Gaskill and this is the Daily Spark. Out here in Arizona there is a lot of brown. I'm in the desert, of course there's brown. Mountains, it's beautiful, but it's dry. And I was really surprised when I came out here the first time to see how many fields of corn and cotton and alfalfa there were out here in the desert. There's a lot of farming going on, and there's a lot of cows, but there's not much water. So one thing you see out here are canals that run along the ditches parallel to the cornfields and alfalfa fields.. And when they flood these canals to irrigate, you'll often see egrets, you know, those regal-looking, thin, slender white birds that just stand motionless for hours sometimes it seems. You'll see those birds often around the fields waiting for them to flood those canals. And I'm driving along the other day and I saw one by himself. Standing in the dirt looking at a cornfield. He was almost dead center standing there staring at this massive cornfield. So of course I pulled over. It was a great photo op. Got a couple of pictures. And as I'm taking my shots, I'm thinking, as I often do, I wonder what he's thinking standing there staring at that field? Because I was there for a good 45 minutes and just watching him, and he did not move. He was just staring at that field. So I'm thinking, I bet you he's staring at that field thinking there's bugs in that field and he could go have lunch. But what if he's the type of egret that looks at that field and thinks, "I know there's a bug in there and I'm really hungry, but that is a huge cornfield. It would take me forever to find it, and that would be a lot of work, and I might not ever find it. Hmm, I think I'll just stay right here." Or is he that egret that looks at that field and thinks, Oh my goodness, there must be 100,000 bugs in that field! I have hit the jackpot! I could eat for days here. He's excited. He sees the opportunity. He's looking at that field with anticipation of something joyful, something good, something successful. How do you look at your day? How do you stand there and look at obstacles or challenges that are in front of you that seem huge, that seem insurmountable? Are you that Egret that looks at that and thinks, "Oh, I could never tackle that. That's too much work. I'm not going to do that. I'll fail." Or are you the Egret that looks at that and says, I see opportunity. I am so excited. I can't wait to dive into that field. I hope you're the latter. I hope you join me next time for another Daily Spark.
