Once upon a time, there was a successful businessman who had everything: a beautiful wife, adorable children and a big house where everyone lived happily ever after. The pride of his life was his exotic songbird which he kept in a cage and fed with delicious morsels when entertaining his guests.
One day the man had to take a trip far south and asked his wife and children what gifts they would like to receive from abroad - they asked for fine silks, honeycombs and wind-up toys. Finally, he asked his songbird if she would like him to bring anything for her
"I only wish a small favour." The songbird answered.
"Anything at all," declared his master.
"Just this: when you see my cousins in the trees where you are going, please tell them about my conditions here.
"Are you sure? Could I bring you a mirror with a fine jewel encrusted in it or tropical dried fruit?"
"No, just this, thank you." The songbird responded and the man left feeling a little disconcerted but determined to fulfill his pet's wishes.
The man made his trip safely and carried out his business successfully and spent his remaining time there buying the gifts that his family had asked for. Finally, he went to a park and saw some birds in the trees that looked very much like his own songbird. He called one of them and told them how his own bird lived in a cage and sang for him.
But as soon as he finished speaking, one of these exotic birds trembled on his branch, fell to the ground and stopped moving. The man held his head in pain and the incident ruined his journey.
He returned home and greeted his wife and family who were delighted with his gifts, but he could not share their joy as long as the next encounter with his songbird remained on his conscience. Finally he found the courage to go down to the garden.
"Well?," asked his songbird; and, hesitating, the man told him exactly what had happened. The songbird listened carefully, then shivered on its perch and fell to the bottom of its cage, dead.
The man was now overcome with pain and confusion. Crying openly he opened the cage door and took his beloved songbird in his hands. No sooner had he done so when the bird came back to life and flew to the branches of the nearest tree and let out a cry of joy as it found its freedom.
The man scratched his head in wonder and finally asked: "Okay, you win. But please tell me, what was in the message that contained this trick?
The songbird looked at him with pity and said: "My cousin in Africa showed me that it was my beauty that kept me in the cage. If it were not for the delight of my singing, you would have lost interest long ago. I had to give up that life to be free.
The image of dying unto oneself is a common Sufi theme, in particular dying unto this world and the things that we hold precious in order to experience the true freedom of living in grace. In one sense this story is about the self-limitation of vanity, but at a deeper level there’s the notion that as long as we’re in love with ourselves, we will always be in a cage of our own making.
