How could a swallow or sparrow know the ambition of a swan?
I used to think people who complained about minor inconveniences in daily life were just being fussy. Sure, now that they mentioned it, it was inconvenient, but it wasn't really worth worrying about. In fact, since I didn't even notice such things, I felt smug, thinking of myself as a broad-minded, generous person of great stature. I wondered if perhaps I was the swan.
I watched from on high, thinking that swallows and sparrows must have a hard time constantly stressing over trivialities, but am I really a swan? Some of those I thought were swallows or sparrows notice these tiny discrepancies and remove their causes. That benefits not only themselves but others as well.
People who implement improvements that someone with my level of sensitivity wouldn't even notice are not swallows or sparrows. They are, in fact, the swans. I simply lack the ability to pick up on minor inconveniences. That doesn't make me a swan; it just makes me a useless giant.
Those who stop at complaining might be swallows or sparrows, but the moment they notice the discrepancy, they have the potential to ascend to the status of a swan. Whether they end up as someone who just voices dissatisfaction is up to them. You cannot start anything if you do not notice it in the first place.
The real problem is people like me who don't pay attention to trivial things, yet mistakenly believe they are superior. They don't even realize that they don't notice. If you don't notice, there is no improvement.
By belittling myself this much, my humility should be apparent. Perhaps I am not a swallow or a sparrow after all.
In the first place, isn't this idiom rude to swallows and sparrows? I don't like that swallows and sparrows are used as metaphors for small-minded people just because of their physical size. It's the height of lookism. Conversely, perhaps the swan cannot understand the ambitions of the swallow or sparrow.
And by not forgetting to support the swallows and sparrows, I must be a swan after all.