Butterfly

After the Chinese New Year holidays, I was in a pensive mood. I decided to go to a butterfly exhibition. It reminded me of school days excursion. I remembered visiting a brick factory in Jurong as a primary school boy. Don't think everyone one of you knew what a brick is by now. I also remembered that years ago, I wrote a piece related to butterfly and it was the "Butterfly Effect". Oh my, it was 7-8 years ago. In case you have missed out, I feel you should read it and this is the link:

https://gforce-guru.blogspot.sg/2010/10/butterfly-effect.html (highlight this link and click go to)

There were many songs and music about the humble butterfly from Mehdi, Chris Spheeris to Yanni and Mariah Carey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=SG&hl=en-GB&v=OkX1aiIfiG4 (Flight of the Butterfly - Mehdi)

http://dziga.meta.ua/954059.video (Butterfly - Chris Spheeris)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBGzGcwYIlE (Butterfly Dance - Yanni)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stcdNj0SANw (Butterfly - Mariah Carey)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUUSz54G6jc (Wings of a Butterfly - HIM)

I time-travel when I write. Imagination is free and powerful. It is the antidote and it unlocks treasures. Among songs and music, my favourite butterfly song is the song simply called 'Butterfly' because it was memorable for me as a young boy or perhaps during my youth:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D3NOqUWrY0 (Butterfly) (highlight this link and click go to)

I remember most songs of my youth, rock bands and all, events and what we did. Perhaps the exuberance of youth is quintessential. You may achieve much success in your working or business life but you will realise the accolades somehow pales in comparison to ''moments in your life". The more care-free they are, the better. I wonder how many of you from my time (that was the land before time) knew this song? If you know this song please ''kee chiu" (raise  your hands).

When I got there, the first thing that greeted me was a stick insect. These insects are not new to me. As a child, I used to visit my maternal grandma's sister's home in a kampong in 'Pek Shan Ting'. The place has long since been called Bishan. There were no street lamps there in that kampong nor do they have paved roads. I remembered vividly that they have a huge kitchen where they cooked using woods to make fire and they drank and washed using water from a well. They have all kinds of fruit trees - guava, rambutan, star fruit, etc. I was usually busy at a shed where the chickens laid there eggs simply because I could collect some eggs that were still warm. These are free-roaming chickens way before free-roaming date invaded human lives. This is where the granduncle kept his stick insects with a pot of plant at his main door. 

The butterfly is one of the most beautiful insects.

Its average life span is only for a couple of weeks. What would humans do if we could live for only a couple of weeks. What would be the most important things in your life. Your priority would change wouldn't it?

Butterflies are such gentle and fragile creatures. This was a a friendly one and it looked like it was taking off. The homo sapien species (these are not butterflies but human beings) like chasing things where the more you chase the more it flutters farther away from you like a butterfly. Take a rest some time and the lovely butterfly would come and gently rest on your hand or your shoulder. 

It is common for us to hear the phrase - "life is short". You will hear this when someone needs to justify enjoying oneself in his own indulgence or over indulgence, or when you knew someone who was suddenly gone. Even when someone is celebrating his birthday. Because it seems all to fast. What is the meaning of life then if you are fluttering around like a butterfly? 

Fluttering around like your busy work life, helping a bit with some pollination, enjoying yourself with some water melon or whatever floats your boat, drop your wings and die. Surely that is not the sole purpose of our being here. Otherwise God may have just made us butterflies and gave us two weeks or made us giant butterflies and give us a human life span. There would be too much fluttering around and it would not only be tiresome and the ensuing ''butterfly effect'' would wreak havoc in weather with tornadoes and hurricanes.

Life Cycles

In life, regardless of your creature class, there is a cycle. That is why we are always going in circles. Haha. And no one could escape it. Humans and butterflies shared a common four-stage cycle where it all began with an egg. The caterpillar is like a baby, a child/toddler who just eats and grow (are some of you still doing just that?). The child learns to crawl, walk and later run.

The Pupa or Chrysalis stage is the adolescent stage. Hidden in its cocoon, the caterpillar undergoes major changes, a tremendous transformation called metamorphosis. Just like people in their youth.

Stage Four is the complete adult butterfly just like a human adult. They remain this way for the rest of its life. Even when the butterfly struggled out of its cocoon, it has to dry its wing for some time. 

I was fixated to observe how this fellow struggled. It rested after every few struggles and then went again. The other one has already got its wings out to dry.

The human metamorphosis is the same. The problems and struggles in our lives are necessary so as to make us strong. It was designed so. A life-saving fluid 'hemolymph' is released when it struggles in order to strengthen the body and the wings. Otherwise, the butterfly becomes weak and will soon die. So humans too need to build up their grit to overcome struggles. You have to get out of your own cocoon.

Finally, here it comes. Just like Batman Begins.

Soon, it shall be a strong and beautiful person/butterfly. 

Beauty lies in the eye of a beholder. A butterfly no matter how beautiful is food in the eyes of bigger insects and birds. So too your life on planet earth. 

The vagaries of life suggest so.

Fold up your wings in the quietest whimper. 

Or spread your wings and fly.

When an egg is broken from the outside, a life ends. If the egg breaks from within, a life begins. Great things always begin from within. 

At the end of the day, you shall only leave behind a legacy. What is yours? Buttterflies leave behind their wings. We put them in a bottle and it reminded me of "Tine In A Bottle".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO1rMeYnOmM (Time In A Bottle - Jim Croce)

I went back to school and did a small art work of a butterfly wing book mark. Perhaps next is to create a new super hero - The Butterfly Man.

Perhaps I should be looking for grasshoppers for another article soon. Just take a look at the below clips from the wisdom of the Grasshopper at your leisure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9selPW2lL-M (Child Grasshopper snatching pebble from hand)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1wjvP-raOI (Adult Grasshopper snatching pebbel from hand) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2yIkDVs0cA&t=117s (Ripple In A Pond)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3d3-xPJoJI (Diversity)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2yIkDVs0cA&t=117s (The Beginning of Wisdom)

If you remember this television series you are an ageing butterfly with some wisdom. The original plot was a creation of Bruce Lee who wanted to play the part which was eventually given to David Carradine. It was a hit and success. Can you imagine if Bruce Lee played the role. Not only would he snatch pebbles effortlessly but his masters pebbles too.