Life Is Struggle, And Struggle Builds Character

Life is struggle. And struggle builds character. It is much like a muscle that is frequently exercised, it builds strength and is able run well. Life struggles teach us valuable lessons and give us life experiences that we may otherwise never get. This inspirational tale tells how struggling is a necessary component of life, necessary for character building and consequent survival.

The Kind Man And A Cocoon

Strolling through his beautiful and meticulously kept garden, a man found a cocoon of a butterfly. It hung delicately on a branch and swung gently in the breeze. The man was indeed intrigued, it was interesting to him that a thing so tightly wound and showing no signs of life actually held a beautiful budding life in it. Everyday as the man went about life, he made a point to check on his new fascination, the cocoon.

One day he noticed the cocoon had a small hole and within it, tiny legs and veined wings struggled fervently to free itself. The man sat and watched the struggling butterfly for several hours. He prayed for his little friend’s success, he hoped and prayed some more. Time passed and the butterfly continued to struggle for its life, trying to force its body through the small hole.

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Alas the butterfly stopped struggling, and stopped making any progress. It appeared to be stuck.

Help That Hurts

Moved by compassion, the man decided to help the little butterfly and put it out of its misery. So he snipped the cocoon open with a pair of scissors. Out slipped the butterfly, swollen body, sagged wings and wobbly legs.

The man waited for the butterfly’s wings to dry and strengthen so it could fly. But that was never to be. The butterfly’s wings remained saggy and its legs remained wobbly. It could neither fly nor walk. Life is struggle, and by sparing the butterfly the pain of struggle, the man had deprived it of the required strength to fly.

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Without the tools to move and evade predators the poor butterfly fell prey to ants.

Struggles Are Part Of Life

What the man did not realize was that the struggle was part of the butterfly’s design. It needed to put in the work to force itself out the cocoon. By pushing and forcing out the small hole, fluids from its body would have pushed to its wings and legs and strengthened them, allowing it fly. In order to fly, the butterfly had to work hard to push fluid where it needed to go. And by helping, the man deprived the butterfly the chance to experience flight. By saving it from pain, the man killed the butterfly.

Struggle Builds Character

The life lessons we learn from the many painful mistakes we make, the tough times we face, the times we get up when we fall again and again, all work to help us push fluid to our wings so we can fly.

As we live our lives day in and day out, we are faced with challenges, big and small. Things may happen to thwart our plans, or even take us several steps away from our goals. But it is important to remember not to take shortcuts, cut corners or cheat our way through. We must face our challenges and build the required mental and emotional tenacity required for our life’s journey.

When character is built on the wings of learned lessons, life experiences, hard work and determination, it soars. It flies without fear because it knows where the bumps and dips are, and has the tools to hold on fast.

So don’t be afraid of life’s struggles, because you’ll never know how strong you are until the only option left is to be strong.