Why Did the Chicken Cross The Road
After another semi-sleepless night, where I tossed and turned, at dawn, it dawned on me. The true meaning behind the answer to the age old question, “Why did the chicken cross the road?”
A chicken is on one side of a road and it crosses only to get to the other side. But why? Why does this even make sense, when at surface glance it seems nonsensical. I think we laugh at this because we think it has no reason to it. But it really does. The other side is, well, the other side. A place that is not the side the chicken is currently on. OK, so I am picturing the chicken in a place it no longer wants to be. Many of us are often in this place, wishing we were somewhere else, in a situation we no longer want to be involved in. To cross the road is often very precarious, but on the other side, the chicken sees the grass is greener, the breeze more gentle, there is a babbling brook and some large shade trees; the existence on the other side is less stressful.
On this side of the road there is discord. There is unrest. There is no peace. The grass is brown and dried up and though it rains, only a few small patches of green weeds pop up from time to time.
The world is flowing in a chaotic series of events lately. Perhaps we are all proverbial chickens. We all want to be on the other side of the road, or as Marty the Zebra in the animated movie Madagascar puts it, “the fun side.” The brilliance of this long time joke finally came to me and finally made sense, like a true revelation.
The other side is better, better than the side you are currently living on. The chicken crossing the road tells the story of moving from plight to a more equitable place. But how to get there? Just cross the road. However, the road is very bumpy and semi-trucks are whizzing by at a dizzying speed. No one will stop for you to cross, so you’re just gonna have to make a run for it. Though you might put your toe out on the road, you quickly retract it as fear takes over. It takes an incredible amount of gumption to make the dash through traffic. When you (or the chicken) finally muster all your resources and courage, which is just what we need to do to make a significant change for the better, we can make the journey across the road. Of course some of us, never do get past putting out our toe, or maybe we go so far as taking the first step. But until we commit fully and actually cross the road we cannot experience an existence that will result in long term positive change that will enhance our daily lives.
So why does the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side. Now it makes perfect sense.
Now someone please explain this one to me: Two elephants are taking a bath. One elephant says to the other, “pass the soap.” The other elephant says “no soap radio.”