Tiger Longwing Butterfly by Tim Abeln

About "Tiger Longwing Butterfly"

by Tim Abeln

About the artwork

One day, a man was walking down a path when he spotted a butterfly cocoon that was about to open. As he watched, a small opening appeared in the cocoon, so he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole. Suddenly, it seemed to stop making progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and could not go any further. So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and opened te cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, but it had a tiny, withered body and its wings were shriveled. The man continued to watch because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would open and expand, and be able to support the butterfly's body. To his disappointment neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a withered body and shriveled wings. It was never able to take flight. What the man did not understand is that the restrictive cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening, were nature's way of forcing strength from the butterfly's body into its wings, so that it would be ready for flight once it freed itself from the cocoon. Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If we were allowed to go through life without obstacles, it would probably cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been - never able to fly.