Emerging from the Chrysalis

One day a woman noticed a butterfly chrysalis on one of the branches in her front yard. She was fascinated. She had never seen a butterfly emerge from a chrysalis and was determined to witness the miracle. So day after day she monitored the chrysalis. One day she noticed that the butterfly was beginning to emerge. The butterfly struggled for an extended time, and was fighting hard in order to get out of its pod. The woman could not stand to watch the butterfly struggle, so she decided to help the butterfly and tore open the shell and set the new butterfly free. Hours later the woman returned to where she had set the butterfly free. To her surprise the beautiful butterfly was lying dead on the ground.

The woman later shared her story with a friend who had studied much about butterflies. Her friend said, "Surely you meant well by setting the butterfly free from it's chrysalis, but the struggle to get out of the chrysalis is one of the most important processes for the butterfly. You see, as it beats its wings against the walls and struggles to make its way out, the butterfly's wings are strengthened so that it can fly when it does emerge into the world. By setting it free early, the butterfly had not developed the strength in its wings to fly and could not survive in the world."