The Emperor Moth StoryA man found a cocoon of an emperor moth. He took it home so that he could watch the moth come out of the cocoon. On the day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the moth for several hours as the moth struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress at all. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no further. It just seemed to be stuck. Then the man, in his kindness, decided to help the moth, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining coccon. The moth then emerged easily. But the moth had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the moth because he suspected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body of the moth, and the body of the moth would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the little moth spent the rest of it's life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly. What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the moth to get throught the tiny opening were a way of forcing fluid from the body of the moth into its wings so that it could be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight could only come after struggle. By depriving the moth of the struggle, he deprived the moth of health. Sometimes struggles and challenges are exactly what we need in life. Otherewise, we would not be as strong as we might have been. Back to the Martial Arts page. Back to Michael McAvoy's Main page. |
