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Have you heard the story about the eagle's egg that had got lost or abandoned and was found by chickens. When the eagle hatched, it was loved and cared for by the chickens, brought up to act and behave as if it was a chicken. It knew nothing else… Until one day, the eagle was with his brothers and sisters pecking at the ground, like a chicken, when something made him look up to the sky. High above he saw a majestic sight, a beautiful bird soaring gracefully. Something was stirred inside him, a remembrance, a recognition of 'home'…
He asked the chickens, "What is that beautiful bird up there?" The chickens looked up. "Oh that," they said, "that's an eagle, king of the birds. But forget about him, you are one of us, you are a chicken…." I don't know how the story ended and, to me, it is not a case of an eagle being superior to a chicken…just different. The same story has been told about a duck's egg and one day the duck arrives at a great lake just swims, "because he can" --- "it's natural", leaving his family on the shore.
As I understand it, it's all just about remembering Who/What we really are, regardless of what we've been told by others or how we have been brought up. A rose will grow into a rose even if it's in the middle of a field of tulips.
There is an ancient Indian word "Dharma", which has two meanings. The first is, "Your nature, your true, real, essential nature." The second is, "Your purpose in life". To me the two are inseparable. I believe the word literally translates as Truth.
"You are what your deep driving desire is; as your desire is so is your will; as your will is so is your deed; as your deed is so is your destiny."
--- Upanishads, India
Or, like they said in ancient Greece, "Character is fate".
Whatever we are at our most fundamental level, at our most base, whether that be something metaphysical, or something like DNA, I believe that to discover, or remember it is our 'raison d'etre'. And to live in accord, harmony with our deepest selves is the meaning of success.
"Above all, to thine own self be true."
--- William Shakespeare
It's been said that when we die and go back home to 'our maker', we will never be asked why we didn't cure the common cold, why we never made a billion dollars or anything else like that, but simply be asked, "Why didn't you just be yourself?"
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