Value Of Struggle: A Butterfly's Tale...

      

         Years ago I read a story, I loved it so much that it became forever etched in my memory. Now its also the favorite story of my kids. I have to recite it often during our story-telling time. In this post I've decided to share this simple story with all of you. I know you'd love it too, for somewhere deep down we all still cherish those childhood memories when no day was complete without a story session.
      So here it goes...
                                   Once upon a time ( my fav story tagline..!) there was a small boy who lived with his parents in a city. One summer vacation he went to his ancestral house with his parents, situated in a village. The house was old and large with a garden in front of it. There were many flowering plants in the garden, and almost all of them were in full bloom. Next morning while taking a stroll in the garden the little boy was delighted to see some butterflies. He had seldom seen butterflies in his city apartment. He watched them intently for the next few days.
     One day he spotted some strange looking worms which were spotted, on a bush over which he had seen butterflies hovering the previous day. He was trying to remove them with a twig when his father stopped him, and told him that they were caterpillars who would soon grow to be butterflies.

      The boy was curious because they looked ugly and without wings, quite a contrast to the beautiful, colorful winged  butterflies who fascinated the little boy. For the next few days he spent a lot of time watching them closely and would often try to feed them with tender green fresh leaves which they seemed to like.
      Soon they enveloped themselves with a white covering. The boy was very bored now, but was told by his father that now the caterpillar would grow wings inside the cocoon and will emerge out as a butterfly. The boy waited patiently, and would check on the cocoon every now and then. Then one morning he saw a small butterfly trying to come out of the cocoon.The cocoon had a very small opening, and the butterfly was struggling hard to come out of it. But its wings seemed large for the cocoon and were stuck.

    

              The boy could wait no more, he decided to help the little butterfly and tore the cocoon to make it easy for the butterfly to come out. The butterfly did come out, but it seemed strange, its wings were very fragile and small, and its body was swollen, it crawled abruptly and seemed it could not fly.
     Confused, the boy called out to his father. He narrated whatever had happened to his father and was in tears. His father consoled him and told him what went amiss. Struggling to get out of the cocoon was the most essential part of the butterfly's growth. Struggling and wiggling to come out of the narrow opening of cocoon, would have squeezed out the trunk of the butterfly and would have forced its fluid to go into the wings, making them bigger and strong enough to fly. 
    Likewise struggles in one's life are a necessary part of one's growth. Struggles wriggle out our shortcomings and insecurities and bring our hidden talents to fore. Struggles make us stronger and capable of tackling life's queer twists and turns with ease. Struggles force you to move out of your comfort zone and break your own barriers.
If you are facing struggles in your life, have a positive outlook, use them to make a better person out of you, use them as opportunities to explore new horizons. Remember, leading a too comfortable life is like being encased in a cocoon, it hampers your growth.
     This story always infuses me with positivity, and I want to spread those positive vibes to all my wonderful friends. Linking to Patty's Colours decor weekly party, as I want to spread positivity and happiness to as many people as possible. Staying positive enhances creativity and keeps you stress free. On this positive note, its time to sign off. Thanks for hearing me out, have a great life ahead!!