The peacock did not create his own tail, yet he proudly opens it in front of every peahen as if he did. “Look at me!” he shouts. “Look at how wonderful I am! Look at my beautiful tail!” And sometimes, the hen agrees and they mate. Still, he did not create that tail he is taking so much credit for. We can forgive him because he is just a dumb bird.
    Likewise, the lion did not create his majestic mane or his commanding roar, yet he too acts as if he did.  We can forgive him too because he is just a dumb animal obeying his instinct.
    We humans often do much the same. We act as if the gifts of nature and God and the things we inherited from our parents are our personal accomplishments to be celebrated and flaunted. We forget that others have gifts and talents as well. And we forget that we owe much of what we have to others. The difference between the billionaire and the homeless pauper is sometimes no more than the billionaire had nurturing parents who encouraged him to dream and to try while the pauper was laughed at and abandoned. The difference between the beauty queen and the plain jane may be partly due to restricted eating and many workouts, but is largely due to heredity. The difference between the idiot and the genius may be nothing more that what their mothers ate, drank, and smoked during pregnancy. So before you allow your accomplishments to swell up your ego to the point where you can't get it through the door, try to remember where your gifts and talents really came from. Sure, you helped develop them, but the raw material to develop had to be there first.  And don't forget the many who helped you along the way.