The female cuckoo is not what I would consider an ideal mother.  When she is ready to lay eggs, she will find the nest of another bird, usually a sparrow, push the sparrows eggs out of the nest and lay hers in the sparrows nest.  The cuckoo then flies off and abandons the eggs to fate.  For all the cuckoo knows, the sparrow may have been caught by a cat and will never return.

In most cases though, the sparrow does return.  She realizes that the eggs now in her nest are not hers, but she is unable to resist her instinct to sit on the eggs and keep them warm.  And once they hatch, she feeds the cuckoo hatchlings until they are strong enough to fly away and one day destroy the eggs of other sparrows.

The cuckoo relies on others to do what she should be doing herself while the sparrow is unable to avoid doing what the cuckoo wants her to do even though it is not in her interest to raise more cuckoos.  Neither is an ideal condition to be in. 

If we are honest, we will admit that at times we have all been cuckoos and at other times sparrows.  Hopefully, most of the time we are neither.  If you don’t know what I mean, allow me to give some examples.

If you’re on welfare and keep having kids with the idea that the state will take care of them, your being a cuckoo

If you send your kids off to school without finding out who is teaching them and what they are learning, you’re being a sparrow

If every time something goes wrong you think you should sue someone because it’s never your fault, your being a cuckoo

If you run out and buy some new clothes because you saw a favorite celebrity wearing it, you’re being a sparrow

If you love to bring your homemade cookies to the office for everyone without regard for the fact that many are trying to lose weight, your being a cuckoo

If you are overweight, but can’t resist those homemade cookies, you’re being a sparrow

I think that is enough examples.  The idea is, if you are letting others control what you do or think, your being a sparrow.  If you’re always trying to convince others to do what you want without regard for what is in their best interest, your being a cuckoo.  Neither is a good position to operate from on a regular basis.  If you are constantly insisting your friends do what you want, you will probably lose most of your friends.  If you are letting others make decisions for you, you will be doing what is in their best interest, not yours.

The way to become more balanced in this is that, if you tend to be the cuckoo type, start listening more to what others want and let them have their way sometimes.   And if you’re always a sparrow, start learning to develop your will power so you can make your own decisions.  Who knows, maybe instead of a sparrow or a cuckoo, you will become a phoenix.