the caterpillar, the cocoon, and the butterfly

for most of us, starting a career is like a caterpillar walk. slow. calculated. blending our colours with the environment, and losing our identity in the process. soon, we become aware that there are hundreds of thousands of caterpillars racing to the top.

it’s a caterpillar race!

sadly, many of us would quit the race at this stage by simply being overwhelmed by the number of those participating in the race.

the race gets worse. we soon notice that caterpillars tend to step on each other just to be on top, attracting other caterpillars to do the same until a small caterpillar hill is formed. each caterpillar fights to be on top. kicking each other. pulling each other. preventing those above us to move further up.

then one of us reaches the top. the top caterpillar is recognized as the winner! everyone feels envious. but eventually, the top caterpillar realizes that there’s really nothing there at the top except that, the others are down below.

others choose to stay on top until they are pulled down by force.

a few of us realize that being on top is a mere illusion, and that there must be more to life than this. we voluntarily crawl down. many of us would get hurt in the process. and yet, we feel we must get out of the caterpillar race. our enemies mock us and call us losers. some of our closest friends do not understand us.

we crawl. our forward motion seems endless. the journey does not appear to have any direction at all. we feel at loss. we go through a cycle of regrets and reassurances regarding our decision to get out of the race.

then we feel weak. our slow caterpillar walk gets slower. the whole world before us seems to be getting darker. we pray, and nobody seems to hear. we cry until our tears are dried. there is this darkness that literally envelops us. then… we become immobile in absolute darkness.

we experience the cocoon stage. it is like death. it seems forever.

out of darkness, we see a glimpse of light. then we feel something in our body. we can move. we can move that part of our body at will. we can spread it out! it’s big! it’s wide! it’s colourful! then to our surprise, we realize we have wings! and we fly!

we experience metamorphosis! we are transformed! we are free!

but there is more! we soon become aware that our purpose is to multiply the beauty of our surroundings by doing what we like best – becoming couriers of life-giving nourishment from one flower to another. our purpose is to serve those around us! and in turn, we are nourished.

as we fly doing our service to our gardenworld, we see the caterpillars. we realize that we did not have to step on each other to find our purpose. we realize that success is not necessarily equal to a meaningful life.

then we see the cocoons. we fly over them. we gently and lovingly land on them. and we whisper: “out of darkness, light will come, and you’ll spread your colourful wings like me.”


"whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it."
isa al-masih