A man found a cocoon of an emperor moth. He took it home so that he could watch the moth come out of the cocoon. On the day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the moth for several hours as the moth struggled to force the body through that little hole.
The moth seemed to be stuck and appeared to have stopped making progress. It seemed as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. The man, in his kindness, decided to help the moth; so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The moth then emerged easily. But its body was swollen and small, its wings wrinkled and shriveled. The man continued to watch the moth because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to and able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a small, swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. The man in his kindness and haste did not understand that the struggle required for the moth to get through the tiny opening was necessary to force fluid from the body of the moth into its wings so that it would be ready for flight upon achieving its freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight would only come after the struggle. By depriving the moth of a struggle, he deprived the moth of health.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. Give every opportunity a chance, leave no room for regrets, and don't forget the power in the struggle.
It has been a long dreary day every since I read the article this morning...and I have not had the heart to blog as usual. There is so much I feel and yet, for once, I do not know how to say it. Perhaps this short inspirational story says it all....
2 comments to THE STRUGGLE
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Unknown Dear Ocho-Onda,
Thanks for the reminder...I always wondered who said that phrase; now I know :-).
I always believe that bad experiences make us better persons although we may not feel that way during the ordeal.
Take care and have a good day!
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ocho-onda How true ! I actually posted a similar fable some time back in Din's blog! The moral of the story is quite similar to Friedrich Nietzsche's contention that "what does not destroy me, makes me stronger," that strife and struggle have its positive effects as well !