“How does one become butterfly?” Pooh asked pensively. “You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar”, Piglet replied. “You mean to die?” asked Pooh. “Yes and no”, he answered. “What looks like you will die, but what’s really you will live on”. ―A.A. Milne

The struggling butterfly story has been around a long time, yet the lesson remains always relevant.

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.

Then, it seemed to stop making any progress.

It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther.

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.

However, it now had a swollen body and only small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, 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 shriveled wings.

It never was able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle, 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.

Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we went through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us.

We would not be as strong as what we could have been, and… we could never fly.

When you are under pressure, remember that you are a stronger person after you have gone through it.

“Once upon a time, I, Chuang Tzu, dreamt that I was a butterfly, flitting around and enjoying myself. I had no idea I was Chuang Tzu. Then suddenly I woke up and was Chuang Tzu again, but I could not tell. Had I been Chuang Tzu dreaming I was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming I was now Chuang Tzu? However, there must be some sort of difference between Chuang Tzu and a butterfly!” ―Zhuangzi (one of the two foundational texts of Taoism, along with the Tao Te Ching)

PLUS check out these free gifts from friends…CHECK out the following great resources as well…Forward Steps Personal Development » Short Story About A Struggling Butterfly

Hi, I'm Thea Westra at Forward Steps (forwardstepsblog.com)

Since March 2003, I've been sharing practical, positive, thought provoking and inspiring self improvement content online. My aim is simple - to offer tips and resources that help us enhance our daily experience of life and to keep stepping forward. Perth, Western Australia is the place I call home and I'm the author of "Time For My Life: 365 Stepping Stones". You might also know me from the Forward Steps personal development blog and the daily series of "365 Forward Steps Notes", all designed to add wings to our unique life journeys.

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