Butterfly

“A man found a pupa of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole. Then it stopped, as if it couldn't go further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon. The butterfly emerged easily but it had a swollen body and shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch it, expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge and expand enough to support the body. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around. It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand: The restricting cocoon and the struggle required by the butterfly to get through the opening was a way of forcing the fluid from the body into the wings so that it would be ready for flight once that was achieved.

Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. Going through life with no obstacles would cripple us. We will not be as strong as we could have been and we would never happily fly. 

So have a nice day; struggle a little and learn well.”

I found this interesting story under REFLECTION link in Piya Tan's website. Furthermore, Piya Tan made a very good reflection based on the story. He said:

"If we have done all we can, and things still do not seem to work our way, then we need to reflect on the butterfly story.We are still evolving in our karmic* cocoon; let things be for a while. Do what needs to be done for the present. And keep asking ourself: What do I do next? Don’t think, just feel, be at peace with ourself: we will hear the answer soon enough."

*Karma is cause and effect. Indeed, every things in this universe are working through cause and effect relationship.

May you be well and happy always :)