Addressing The Butterfly

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole at the end.

Eventually, the butterfly stopped making progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther.

The man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, but it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening is nature's blessing.

It is a way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes what appears to be a struggle is nature's blessing. If nature allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. And we would never fly.

Butterflies earn their wings. Struggling is a part of the journey but it is not forever. For each struggle gives our wings flight.

May whatever you are going through today help you spread your wings and gain the strength and altitude you need to leave the cocoon.