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Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a
water puddle ahead on the path. I angled my direction to go
around it on the part of the path that wasn't covered by
water and mud. As I reached the puddle, I was suddenly
attacked! Yet I did nothing for the attack was so
unpredictable and from a source so totally unexpected. I was
startled as well as unhurt, despite having been struck four
or five times already. I backed up a foot and my attacker
stopped attacking me. Instead of attacking more, he hovered
in the air on graceful butterfly wings in front of me. Had I
been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing, but I was
unhurt, it was funny, and I was laughing. After all, I was
being attacked by a butterfly!
Having stopped laughing, I took a step forward. My attacker
rushed me again. He rammed me in the chest with his head and
body, striking me over and over again with all his might,
still to no avail. For a second time, I retreated a step
while my attacker relented in his attack. Yet again, I tried
moving forward. My attacker charged me again. I was rammed
in the chest over and over again. I wasn't sure what to do,
other than to retreat a third time. After all, it's just not
everyday that one is attacked by a butterfly. This time,
though, I stepped back several paces to look the situation
over. My attacker moved back as well to land on the ground.
That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me
only moments earlier. He had a mate and she was dying. She
was beside the puddle where he landed.
Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as
if to fan her. I could only admire the love and courage of
that butterfly in his concern for his mate. He had taken it
upon himself to attack me for his mate's sake, even though
she was clearly dying and I was so large. He did so just to
give her those extra few precious moments of life, should I
have been careless enough to step on her. Now I knew why and
what he was fighting for. There was really only one option
left for me. I carefully made my way around the puddle to
the other side of the path, though it was only inches wide
and extremely muddy. His courage in attacking something
thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for
his mate's safety justified it. I couldn't do anything other
than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the
puddle. He had truly earned those moments to be with her,
undisturbed.
I left them in peace for those last few moments, cleaning
the mud from my boots when I later reached my car.
Since then, I've always tried to remember the courage of
that butterfly whenever I see huge obstacles facing me. I
use that butterfly's courage as an inspiration and to remind
myself that good things are worth fighting for. |
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