You often must’ve seen a beautiful butterfly flutter past your eyes. You might’ve admired the intricate patterns on its wings or the diversity of colors spanned over a small creature measuring not more than 2-3 inches.
Well, guess what- you also must’ve never imagined the power a butterfly can hold. An ancient American-Indian legend dating back hundreds of years states that butterflies are the messengers of god- sometimes their sizes are so huge they’re mistaken as angels. Whispering your greatest desires to a butterfly is like an express delivery of your wish to the all-mighty, since a butterfly can make no sound, it cannot reveal the wish to anyone but the Great Spirit who hears and sees all.
It looks like 13-yr old Jade had no idea of this fact like you did as well. The blue sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds that drifted lazily in the gentle breeze. The roads shimmered in the heat of the sun. The sunlit skyscrapers pierced the hot, blue sky. Jade was lying on a lush green carpet of grass in her backyard, admiring the mesmerizing sky. As she daydreamed absent-mindedly, she felt a soft brush against her arm. She sat up alarmed, her hands ready to swat away a probable “life-threatening fly”. Instead, she noticed a petite monarch butterfly with an injured wing struggling to fly away from the flustered figure of Jade’s. Jade carefully picked up the butterfly, trying her best to not damage it further, and took it inside her humble abode.
She gently laid the butterfly in a cardboard box with muslin secured over the top with a large elastic band. She was puzzled about how to take care of the tiny beauty, but after surfing the internet for some time- she learned the proper way to care for an injured butterfly. Jade fed it from time to time, made sure it got lots of exercise, and was well exposed to nature.
Ms. Butterfly was a very fast healer. All was going well until the day the cast for the upcoming school play was announced. Jade had a huge mental breakdown. She hadn’t got the part in the school play she had worked day and night to perfect. She felt like a failure and her mental health deteriorated drastically. Her parents started worrying about their daughter and tried their best to comfort her by telling her that things always don’t go the way you expect them to go. Her so-called friends started making fun of her for “acting” depressed all the time. It seemed like only Jade could understand herself.
One day, she couldn’t handle the sudden wave of anxiety that hit her all of a sudden, so she vented all her emotions on the butterfly. She said she wished that she could be as successful as all her rivals and could be perfect, the same things any other teenage girl would because of “standards”.
The next morning- she got dressed as usual and headed to school. Jade went to her class and spotted a notice on the notice board. Surprise surprise! A top-notch casting director was visiting their school- for a big-budget upcoming play. Jade didn’t seem excited though, she had lost all her self-confidence. The day went on how it typically does and later in the lunch break, Jade went to the auditorium just to see how her arch-enemy Regina, who had got the main part in the school play, was doing in this audition. She watched and watched and every time she did, the bitterness in her increased.
All of a sudden a crew member suddenly came up to Jade and pushed her on stage. She was surprised, hit with anxiety, and didn’t know what to do all at the same time. She just froze and stood like a statue. She then saw the same little butterfly she cared for all these days flutter towards her and sit on her shoulders.
At once, she felt a surge of confidence and self-awareness, and aware of all this jade took a deep breath and acted out the part that she had practiced for the school play. She bonded with the audience, made the situation feel surreal, and displayed an array of emotions all in a span of a few minutes. When she finished, she heard a burst of applause and praises around her, even Regina looked dumbstruck! Jade’s happiness knew no bounds.
The casting director came up to her, confirming her for her part in a Broadway play! She was shaking, out of shock so she took a seat and took a deep breath. She suddenly remembered her butterfly- and searched for her everywhere, but she was nowhere to be found. Jade felt awful.
She wanted to thank her for being there for her whenever she needed someone to speak to and share her sorrows with. She wondered how the butterfly even got out of her little shelter, more or less even finding her! It was all a miracle. She then started to become mindful of her thoughts. She pondered over the series of events that took place.
In the end, Jade concluded that the butterfly that helped her overcome her obstacle of stage fright was none other than her strong-willed subconsciousness. That’s when she realized, there are no miracles in life- they’re just situations you can’t explain! Life throws things at you from all directions like a sleeting thunderstorm- but you only get rainbows in the end!
