Our perspective on life can be the difference between feeling defeated or resilient.
I’d like to share a short story that I hope can change your perspective and perception around your life struggles. I borrowed this story from my church bulletin years ago. The author is unknown, but I hope the lesson can open your heart and free you from a little suffering.
The Struggle
A man 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 the tiny hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as possible, and it could go no further.
The man 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 it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected at any moment, the wings would enlarge to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened!
In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of his life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly.
In his kindness and haste, the man did not understand that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's/Nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so it would be ready for flight.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life.
If we were allowed to go through life without obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been, and we could never fly.
It's a powerful story, isn't it?
In my experience, I have found that some of the most resilient people that I have worked with and met have one defining different way of thinking from those who are not.
The resilient believe that challenges are happening "for them" not "to them."
I urge you to begin looking for the gift, lesson, and teaching in your adversities. The alternative is living life as a victim, powerless and defeated!
And, as always, feel free to contact me if you'd like some support as you move through the struggles—the highs and lows of your life, and look for the gifts.