Coco Calling No.268 - The Difference Between a Chicken and a Human

Parrots like me are feathery philosophers. We quietly survey the world around us, (through one eye at a time), and discover a great many hidden truths and gems of wisdom. And this ought to be acknowledged when humans are giving their new parrots a name. I really should have been called ‘Aristotle,’ ‘Plato’ or ‘Socrates.’ Instead, I finished up as plain old ‘Coco’, but at least I share the same name as a parrot owned by Queen Victoria.

Anyway, the other day, I found myself contemplating the differences between a chicken and a human. The two chickens that wander around our garden are ‘pre-programmed’ to be chickens. They don’t have great intellects, and they simply strut around, explore, scratch, eat, roost and lay eggs. And that’s about it. They don’t stop and think about the world around them. They just get on with living out their lives in their simple chicken way.

Humans, on the other hand, are much more complex. They’ve been blessed with larger brains (even though they don’t always use them properly). And this allows them to consider, to assess, to think, and to make choices. But this gift comes with a considerable downside, because they also experience a much greater range of emotions. Yes, humans spend a great deal of their time fretting, worrying and stressing about their daily existence and what might be. And the more complicated they make their lives, the worse it gets. The complexity of human existence is becoming rather like a run-away train with their modern computers and mobile phones turning them all into, -(dare I say it), - a bunch of headless chickens. And this whole situation can be summed up by that wonderful human invention, -the humble baked bean. When I was just a small chick growing up some 25 years ago, Heinz offered their basic baked beans, or the option of having beans and sausages together in a tin. Now, when humans go to do their food shopping, they are confronted by eleven different varieties of Heinz baked beans. There’s the original recipe, Mexican, Sweet Chilli, Cheesy, Tikka, Jalfrezi, Barbecue, Peri Peri, and beans with vegan sausages, beans with Richmond sausages and beans with the original sausages. I mean, just how complicated do you want to make a simple baked bean? And so it is with the rest of their lives, and none of this makes them any happier. There’s an old Japanese proverb which, after my baked bean illustration, seems rather apt. It goes like this: 

“It is better to be the head of a chicken than the rear end of an ox.”

Yes, humans can learn a great deal from the simplicity of chickens, and of course, throughout the Bible, there are many examples of God and Jesus simplifying profound truths into messages of accessible wisdom. The Ten Commandments are a model of divine simplicity. The parables are used to clarify God’s message in simple ways that everyone can understand. And the simplicity of children is used by Jesus as a model for adult humans to emulate.

So, perhaps you can now appreciate why I’m so pleased to be a parrot instead of a human being. Because they’re really not doing themselves any favours at all.

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”

(Confucius: [c551 - c479]: Much heralded Chinese philosopher)

“Complexity is your enemy. Any fool can make something complicated. It is harder to keep things simple.”

(Richard Branson: [1950 – present]: English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970)

“Out of intense complexities, intense simplicities emerge.” 

(Winston Churchill: [1874 – 1965]: British statesman, military officer and writer, who served as Prime Minister during the Second World War)

“He called a little child over and had him stand among them. And He said: ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven’.”                                               (Matthew 18: 2-3)

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”                                                                             

(Philippians 4: 6-7)