by Dustin Thompson
There was a boy that was walking with his father in the woods. They found a cocoon with a butterfly still developing inside it. He brought it home and placed it within a terrarium and made sure that it was an environment that was going to allow it to grow and develop.
The boy took great pride in his developing butterfly. He would sit and watch it every day. Then finally the day that he had been waiting for arrived. The cocoon began to move and it was clear that the butterfly was working its way out. He ran to his father to tell him what was happening! His father made one thing very clear to him “do not touch the cocoon”. The boy heard what his father told him and had every intention of heeding that council.
As the boy sat and watched as the butterfly struggled to free itself he found it difficult to refrain from helping! Finally he gave in, he reached in and pulled the walls of the cocoon apart to free the new butterfly! As he did so, the butterfly emerged with shriveled wings and fell to the floor of his container and eventually died.
What the boy failed to understand is that it is the struggle that prepares the butterfly for life. Without that struggle it cannot develop the strength to fly. And it is the squeeze and pressure that it puts on itself that causes its wings to unfurl properly.
There is a powerful lesson there for all of us. We don't grow and change when we are comfortable. And we can cause ourselves and others, harm by trying to remove the struggles in our life. So, when something comes up that challenges you lean into it. Don't give up just because something is difficult. View it as an opportunity for growth! So embrace the struggle and grow from it and I'll see you at the top!
