If you put a buzzard in a small pen that’s open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will stay a prisoner. The reason is that buzzards always begin a flight from the ground with a run of about four metres. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly. Bumblebees are a bit the same. If you drop one into an open glass tumbler, it will stay there until it dies. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom.
In many ways, we are like buzzards and bumblebees. We struggle with our problems and frustrations, forgetting that what we really need to do is look up and seek the wisdom of our creator. As the psalm says ‘I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord.’