“Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.”

~ Orison Swett Marden

 

 

The story of the butterfly

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 squeeze its body through the tiny hole.
Then it stopped, as if it couldn’t go further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly.
He took a pair of scissors and
snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon.
The butterfly emerged easily but it had a swollen body and shrivelled wings.

The man continued to watch it,
expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge and expand enough to support the body.Neither happened!
In fact the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around.
It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness
and haste did not understand:
The restricting cocoon and the struggle required by the butterfly to get through the opening was a way of forcing the fluid from the body into the wings so that it would be ready for flight once that was achieved.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.
Going through life with no obstacles would cripple us.
We will not be as strong as we could have been and we would never fly.

~ Author Unknown

“Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the Truth.”

~Swami Vivekananda

“It is not what we read, but what we remember that makes us learned. It is not what we intend but what we do that makes us useful. And, it is not a few faint wishes but a lifelong struggle that makes us valiant.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher

“Always remember that striving and struggle precede success, even in the dictionary.”~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

“Times get overwhelming when you begin to try to control the uncontrollable... Let go and let God!”~Author Unknown

P.S: It is important for me to clarify that I do not connect with the word “struggle” (in the context of today’s story)as synonymous with “fight - wrestle - strive - combat - contend – battle”.

For me, it means the required effort ….more like taking inspired action which is a part of the manifesting process.

When we have put in our very best……then it is time to let go and let God.

May you always be divinely guided to take inspired action….

Namaste,

Bhagya