Thursday, January 26, 2006

Cocoon



As per Dots request for me to post this piece of mine:

Cocoon

When looking at a cocoon, you see a hard shell with a small opening at the top of it. A wild catterpillar is transforming into a beautiful butterfly inside that cocoon. The tranformation process is the most tedious and crucial process; it is also the most beautiful. Thousands of webs interwine in that delicate process. It takes time and effort.
Now I can get a small knife and open up the crack in the cocoon a bit to help the beautiful creature break through. But if I do, then I am depriving it from the strength that it gains by that struggle to try and break it open, and I therefore make it weak and take away the strength that it needs to survive in the wild. By helping it, it will always stay dependent on others, but if I leave it to work by itself, then it will be independent and a strong survivor. The time it takes in struggling is what advances it from a mere catterpillar to a beautiful butterfly.
Perhaps the only thing an outside factor can help in is by giving the catterpillar this realization of how this journey is an important part of its development. That, with words of support and encouragement to make it less painful.
I hope that I can fulfill that for my dear ones, for they're such beautiful butterflies, with the most colorful wings that just need a bit of restringing. They will eventually have stronger wings, and the ability to soar high with them. When worst comes to worst, there's no way but up from there, and their limit is as high as their wings will take them.
I look at their cocoon and it pains me to see them in such a struggle that it takes a large effort on my part not to get out my knife and help crack them open. But I then take a closer look, and can almost see the interwoven threads sewing them up. I take a step back, smile, and keep praying to God that this process doesn't cause them any pain.
In life, nothing comes easily, they need to exert effort. They also need to let things take their way. I have high faith in them, for they are the ones who taught me what patience and strength is all about.


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A cocoon can be a peaceful haven, it's so cold and cozy in there with all the surrounding threads warming you that you feel like you never want to leave the soft silky lines that tickle you as they keep sowing. But one day, the threads will become so thick that if you don't do something to break the cocoon then the threads are what will break them for you. Better you break them than the threads, butterflies need every ounce of strength that they can get before daring to emerge in to the wild again.
Until then, take your time in your cocoon, don't leave it until you're ready and you'll be a strong survivor. The wild won't disappear, it's giving you the time needed and is waiting for you.



Breaking the Chains:

"A catterpillar that wanted to know itself well would never become a butterfly."
Andre Gide

"A chinese philosopher once had a dream that he was a butterfly. From that day on, he was never quite certain that he was not a butterfly, dreaming that he was a man."
Unknown

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

just stared at the screen and had a smile on my face...

u are such an Angel.. may God bless your Soul

SZ said...

sometimes i wish i am a cocoon just so that i will be stared at like that : )

Practical Utopian said...

dots
;) may you always be smiling

i have a dream
butterflies get more stares than cocoons do, they're what work the wild life ;p

Insomniac_Blogger said...

Seraph, you always manage to surprised me! hehehe

What is expected of you is what you expect from those close to u. so if you have high expectations for ur friends, i reasure you they do to, especially me! hehe and i know you, your full of potential mashallah! so exploit what you have inside u! capisce? hehe

flamin said...

ure such a lazy bum! im so glad that dotty made u post this. i love ur analogy: the cocoon and life. gosh it's so true. if things are made easy for us...we never learn to use our capacity. sometimes we need to fall on the ground and pick ourselves up and keep going.

this is so very beautiful...never stop writing gurl!

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

Beautiful. Thank you. :)

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

where are u hiding seraph? hope all is well inshallah :)

Practical Utopian said...

insomniac, thank you for your words they're very kind. And you're right about the expectations thing, it sometimes scares you or makes you want to act higher or more strongly due to others expectations of u.

md.. lol at lazy bum. and yes u r so right about needing to pick ourselves up, if we had others pick us up for us then we'll never learn from that stumble will we now.

shaykhspeara sha'ira.. thanks for passing by. i was just being lazy lol, i hope that i'll be back. thanks for the thought.