A monk 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 progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. Then the monk decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But is had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
The monk 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 shriveled wings. Although the monk took very good care of the butterfly for all of its days, it was never able to fly.
The monk in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that is would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight could only come after a struggle.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in life. If we were allowed to go through our whole life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been. Not every struggle has a positive outcome, but many are better for us that we realize. Often, it is in the struggle and the striving that we become truly alive and are able to recognize and appreciate the beauty of this world and all the wonder around us.
~Author unknown
It’s been a while since my last post. I’ve been in my own cocoon… changing, resisting, resisting, resisting, then finally giving in. (Deep breath) It has been a liberating year for me to say the least, a struggle mostly within myself.
I am here now though. I am ready to embrace what is true for me in order to guide others to what is true for them. It has not been an easy process, I have struggled and been in some dark places with myself. But I needed to be there, just like the butterfly. Now I am on the other side and I am able to help people in a more authentic way.
Here’s to the endless journey!
Praising that everyone finds their way in their time,
~Brooke
