A Lesson for Us All...

The Tale of the Butterfly

 The wise old man of the village held a cocoon in the palm of his hand. “What’s that?” the young boy asked. 

 “Why it’s a cocoon,” replied the wise man. “Inside is a caterpillar that spun this cocoon, and when he’s ready, he’ll break out of the cocoon and turn into a magnificent and wondrous butterfly.”

 “Can I have it?” asked the young boy.

 “Yes,” answered the wise man. “But first you must promise that you won’t open the cocoon for the butterfly when he begins to break out. The butterfly must do it all by himself. Can you promise me that?” he asked. 

The young boy agreed and took the cocoon home with him. The next day the cocoon began to tremble. The butterfly fought hard to escape it. The young boy could not bear to watch the butterfly struggle and after a short while, he broke open the cocoon to help the butterfly escape. The beautiful butterfly soared into the air and suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, plummeted to the ground and died. 

 The boy returned to the village wise man, crying and cradling the dead butterfly in his hand. “Did you help the butterfly escape from the cocoon?” the old man asked. 

 “Yes,” replied the child.

 “What you didn’t understand,” the wise man said, “was that the butterfly had to struggle in order to build strength in his wings. By working hard, the butterfly was building muscles he needed to fly. By making it easier for him, you made it impossible for him to fly. You killed the butterfly with good intentions.”

All success requires muscle building. Embrace the struggle.