A little boy brought home a cocoon from a picnic in the woods. He put the cocoon in his garden, and watched it daily in fascination, awaiting it to crack and a beautiful butterfly to emerge! However, the cocoon was too exposed—the urban setting did not protect it from wind, water, and sun. As it struggled to survive, one day a crow scooped down and snatched it .

The boy was heartbroken. The father, who had silently watched the spectacle, wisely counseled his son “You disturbed the cocoon and exposed the larva to much risk, which led to its annihilation.  All living beings need a protective environment to blossom and spread their colorful wings”. To further demonstrate the point, the father got his boy another cocoon; only this time, it was nurtured in a safe environment inside the house.

The cocoon grew rapidly. Then one day a small gap appeared in the cocoon, through which the butterfly was to appear. The duo watched how the butterfly was trying to get out of the cocoon. It took a lot of time, the butterfly was trying very hard, and the gap was as little as before. It seemed that the butterfly would soon lose all its strength.
So the father decided to help it. He took a penknife and cut the cocoon. The butterfly was immediately set free.

Then something strange happened. The butterfly’s body was weak and feeble, and the wings were barely moving. The rest of its life the butterfly had to drag a weak body and wings which weren’t fully spread.   The father, who wanted to help, did not realize that the effort it takes to pass through the narrow gap of the cocoon is necessary for the life-giving fluid to move from the body to the wings to enable the butterfly to fly. This time, it was the father’s turn to learn.

A healthy ecosystem, be it at work or home, provides the necessary hygiene for the inhabitants to survive. A young professional needs the right projects, managers, and processes to breathe.  Similarly, a child needs to be protected from a negative influence in the family, school, or social environment. However, the problem arises when we fail to distinguish between external adversaries and internal resilience. A junior who is spoon-fed with constant trainings, mentoring, and allocation of simpler tasks is deprived of the opportunity to grow. No different than an overprotected offspring who is ill-prepared to face the challenges of the real world when the time comes.

Perhaps, the business executives and homemakers will do well to remember—eliminating risks is necessary for the survival of our treasured ones, but eliminating obstacles turns that survival into a meaningless existence!