The Little Boy, His Grandpa and the Butterfly
Story attributed to Henry Miller, Adapted by Leopold Llonch
A young boy walked up to his grandpa – a very wise man—who was sitting and looking at something in his hand.
“What is that?” the boy asked.
“It’s a Cocoon.” His grandpa told him. “Inside this Cocoon is a butterfly. Soon the Cocoon will split and the butterfly will come out.”
“Could I have it?” asked the little boy.
“Yes,” said his grandpa, “but you must promise me that when the Cocoon splits and the butterfly is beating its wings to get, you won’t help it.” Don’t help the butterfly by breaking the Cocoon apart. Let it get out by itself.”
The little boy promised, he took the Cocoon home, and then sat and watched. Finally, he saw it begin to vibrate, move and quiver. At last the Cocoon split. Inside was a beautiful damp butterfly, frantically beating its wings against the Cocoon, trying to get out.
The butterfly didn’t seem to be able to get free and the little boy desperately wanted to help. Finally, he gave in and disobeyed his grandpa’s orders. He pushed the two halves of the Cocoon apart and the butterfly sprang out. As soon as it got up into the air, it fell down to the ground and died.
The little boy picked up the dead butterfly and in tears, went back to his grandpa and showed him.
His grandpa asked the little boy, “You pushed open the Cocoon, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” said the boy, “I did.”
“You don’t understand. When the butterfly flies free from the Cocoon, the only way it can strengthen its wings is by beating them against the Cocoon. It beats against the Cocoon so its muscles will grow. When you helped it the way you did, you prevented it from getting strong enough to fly. That’s why the butterfly fell to the ground and died.
Children are like butterflies. Doing the work for your child and fulfilling their every desire, tends to weaken the “muscles” a child should develop to help him or her think, solve problems, take responsibility, and fly away to become a responsible person.
The same is true for adults who should be learning service, technical, or leadership skills. The best way we can help someone grow and mature is to mentor and challenge them with opportunities and training that is just beyond their reach.
People grow best when their allowed to make mistakes and learn from them, as long as they don’t keep making the same mistakes. When they do make a mistake, they should know why it was a mistake and how to correct it the next time.
One of the greatest gifts for everyone is to have an effective mentor or advisor who can help you see your path clearly and guide you to make prudence choices in your life and profession.
The first principle of a good mentor: When someone makes a mistake, counsel them privately. When they perform exceptionally, praise them publicly.
And When you counsel someone, reminding him of something he had forgotten, not of the light he was unable to see.
Make it a Great Day!
Leopold