Flying Lessons

I was early for the meeting and the day was unseasonably warm, so I took my time walking across the parking lot toward the building. Just ahead was a flock of birds, robins I think, pecking the lawn for food. As I slowly approached, they stirred and flew up from the lawn to the trees just to the right. A small number lingered on the lawn though, seemingly considering their options. Seconds later, a few more flew up to those same trees and settled in. Just two birds remained on the grass until one took flight, yet did not head for the safety of his flock, but instead flew directly overhead and swooped to the left to a much higher perch in the grand trees lining the rear of the lot. His partner soon followed. I watched the two of them land in the still barren trees and then turned back to observe the rest of the flock. After a moment, as if second-guessing their choice, the flock departed the smaller trees and joined their two rebellious friends in the larger grove.

While I continued to wait for my friends, this “birds of a feather” display brought to mind a moment from long ago; my fifth grade science class, and more specifically, the actions of a classmate.

Our teacher had presented us with a simple experiment and asked us to hypothesize the outcome. He placed two identical candles on a scale, one on each side and asked us if he lit one, whether it would lose mass or not, causing the scale to tip. Almost immediately, a classmate raised his hand and suggested that since the wax would just melt, the answer was no, the scale would not tip. Now this particular student was bright and confident and as a result, other students soon parroted his answer. Eventually, the teacher asked us to raise our hands if we agreed with the theory; all of us did.

All of us, that is, except this one kid. He had a different theory and was not afraid to be “out there” by himself with his own opinion. With the majority of us supporting the same answer, we thought this other kid was clearly a “bird brain.”

As you may have figured out already, the lone student was right. Some of us were wrong because we just had the wrong answer. We had thought it through and just got it wrong. That happens to everyone from time to time. Most of us, however, got it wrong for an entirely different reason. We got it wrong because we followed the crowd without thinking. We all flew off into the trees, not because we thought it was necessarily right, but because we wanted the safety of staying with the flock.

That one kid flew off on his own. He had his own point of view, his own beliefs, and was strong enough to be unaccompanied. Just like that robin though, I doubt he’s alone now.