| Finally,
one day he saw a tiny hole in the cocoon which grew
quickly as the hours passed. He sat watching the
butterfly break her way out of the cocoon. However,
suddenly he noticed that it seemed the butterfly had
stopped making progress. The hole did not get any
larger and the butterfly seemed to be stuck. The
cocoon was bouncing up and down on the branch as the
butterfly tried to squeeze herself, unsuccessfully,
through the hole she had created.
The
man watched in dismay as it seemed his butterfly would
not be able to emerge. Finally, he went inside, took a
small pair of scissors, and carefully cut the cocoon,
allowing the butterfly to emerge easily. However, the
butterfly immediately dropped to the ground instead of
soaring gracefully into the sky as he imagined she
would.
The
man noticed that the butterfly's stomach was swollen
and distended and her wings were small and shriveled,
explaining her inability to fly. He assumed that after
some time, the stomach would shrink and the wings
would expand, and she would fly in her fullest glory.
However, this was never to be.
The
man didn't know that it was the very act of forcing
her body through the tiny hole in the cocoon which
pushed all the fluid from the butterfly's stomach into her wings.
Without that external pressure, the stomach would
always be swollen with fluid and the wings would always be
small and shriveled. His butterfly would never
be able to fly.
In
life, so frequently, we avoid challenges, looking
for the easy way out. We pray to God to remove our
obstacles. We shed tears of despair at any hurdle that
comes our way. We look for people who will
"cut our cocoons," so that we never have to
work and push our way through anything. However,
little do we realize that it is going through those
times of difficulty which prepare us for the road
ahead. The obstacles in our path are God's way of
making us able to fly. With every bit of pushing and
struggling, our wings become fuller and fuller and
only then do we learn how to fly in our true
glory.
So
frequently, people come to me and say, "Oh, why
has God given me so much strife? Why has He put so
many obstacles in my path? Why is He punishing
me? Please remove these obstacles from my path." We must realize
that challenges and hurdles are not punishments. Yes,
the law of karma plays a large role in what we receive in
this lifetime, but even things which may seem like
"bad" karma, are actually opportunities for
growth. Through pushing and struggling our wings
become fuller and we become able to soar through
life. Even an extra small hole to squeeze through is
actually an opportunity for our wings to expand to
great lengths.
So, let
us learn to take our challenges for what they are,
rather than looking around for a "different"
hole, or for someone with a pair of scissors. These
things may help us quickly through the cocoon, but we
will be unable to fly in life.
Let us
appreciate and celebrate our challenges and realize
that God has given them to us in order that we may
grow into our full potential.
With
love and blessings.
In
the service of God and humanity,
Swami
Chidanand Saraswati
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