The story of the butterfly and the cocoon.

( Stories Retold )

A man spent hours watching a butterfly struggling to emerge from its cocoon. It managed to make a small hole, but its body was too large to get through it. After a long struggle, it became exhausted and remained absolutely still.

The man decided to help the butterfly and, with a pair of scissors, he cut open the cocoon and released the butterfly. To his utter surprise, it was shriveled ugly butterfly and its wings were all crumpled.

As the man continued to watch, the I’ll formed butterfly struggled to crawl and died after one hour. It never flied. It didn’t become the beautiful butterfly the man wanted to see.

Because the tight cocoon and the struggle to wriggle out was essential for that butterfly to be able to fly later on. That tiny hole was Nature’s way of training the butterfly to strengthen its wings.

In fact, that struggle and that little extra effort to overcome the struggle is precisely what prepares us for the next obstacle to be faced.

Anyone who refuses to make that extra effort, or gets the wrong sort of help can never manage to fly off to his destiny.

If there’s no struggle, there is no progress.

Published by Dr. Ramakanta

Pediatrician and occasional blogger

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