How Does the Beautiful Butterfly Learn to Fly?
Struggle of A Butterfly
I will tell you one of the most famous inspirational stories. A man was sitting quietly in his garden early one morning, enjoying the silence.
All of a sudden, he saw something special. A little butterfly was struggling to get out of its cocoon. A small hole had appeared, and the butterfly started to push and fight its way out.
It waved its wings, arrested its little body, and tried its best to free itself.
A Helping Hand
The man watched this struggle for more than an hour. But the butterfly appeared jammed, unable to advance any further. It was stuck inside the cocoon.
The man was willing to help the small creature in distress. He gently ripped the cocoon, his loving hands widening the hole. The butterfly came out through the bigger hole now.
The butterfly was struggling to fly, but something wasn’t right. Its body was small and shrivelled, and its wings were weak and tiny.
An Unexpected Outcome
The man waited, praying that the butterfly’s wings would grow and that it would fly away soon. But that moment never came.
The butterfly never flew. The man did not understand that the butterfly had to struggle to come out.
This struggle to emerge from the cocoon forced fluid into its wings, and it is these fluids that strengthened its wings, enabling it to fly.
Without that effort, the butterfly emerged weak and unable to fly.
The Missed Lesson
I often think about how we are formed by struggles as well. We need to be challenged to grow, just like the butterfly. We need Personal Experiences of Growth. If life is too easy, we may remain weak and forever be unable to fly.
I hold on because I remember when my personal experience was similar. After completing my engineering degree, I joined a famous organization as a young trainee. The first months were difficult for me.
I was a frontline engineer for an oil exploration company. We stayed in small lodges in little villages. I took the local bus and train and lived on a small pittance.
It wasn’t the life I had envisioned, but those days taught me so much.
It was a tougher life there, but it gave me a new perspective about the way most people in the country live. They helped me grow, adapt, and prepare for what was next.
Oprah Winfrey’s Journey
A great person whose struggles in early life helped propel her success. Oprah Winfrey was born into poverty in rural Mississippi.
She was raised in poverty with her grandmother and later was abused and neglected.
But Oprah was set on transforming her life. She studied hard in school and went to college on a scholarship. She eventually entered the media, which was her calling.
Her early struggles delivered her a deep sense of empathy and strength. It helped her relate to people and create one of the most successful talk shows in history.
Oprah’s story proves that you can have a rough start to life but still succeed beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.
The Power of Struggle
So next time you want to quit, remember the butterfly. Your struggles are helping you to take flight.
It is difficult, we get that, but that makes you stronger, similar to the butterfly, struggling to emerge from its cocoon.
Life’s challenges, however, are not meant to keep you down. They help you grow, expand your wings and fly like a butterfly.
