The Butterfly...

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.

...>i<

The man decided to help the butterfly. 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, shrivelled wings.

................>i<

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 shrivelled wings. It was never able to fly.

....................................>i<

The restricting cocoon, and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through its tiny opening, were nature's 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.

......................................................>i<

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If we were allowed to go though our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been.

..................................We Could Never FLY ...!!...>i<

P.S. - Pic was taken on a trek to the smokies... (Aaahh.. the smokies..!!! :)
Content - an excerpt from TOI's sacred space.