An excerpt from "Zorba the Greek" by Nikos Kazantzakis:
"I remembered one morning when I discovered a cocoon in the bark of a tree, just as a butterfly was making a hole in its case and preparing to come out. I waited a while, but it was too long appearing and I was impatient. I bent over it and breathed on it to warm it. I warmed it as quickly as I could and the miracle began to happen before my eyes, faster than life. The case opened, the butterfly started slowly crawling out and I shall never forget my horror when I saw how its wings were folded back and crumpled; the wretched butterfly tried with its whole trembling body to unfold them. Bending over it, I tried to help it with my breath. In vain. It needed to be hatched out patiently and the unfolding of the wings should be a gradual process in the sun. Now it was too late. My breath had forced the butterfly to appear, all crumpled, before its time. It struggled desperately and, a few seconds later, died in the palm of my hand.
The little body is, I do believe, the greatest weight I have on my conscience. For I realize today that it is a mortal sin to violate the great laws of nature. We should not hurry, we should not be impatient, but we should confidently obey the eternal rhythm."
I came across this in one of my books I was reading for class tonight. In the book, this was one of the things a teacher gave her children's parents on a "Back-to-School Night." And why she used it makes sense- to display a comparison to a child's development. Their development is something that is completely unique to each child (one of the biggest challenges of a teacher is meeting the needs of all the children, who are developing at many different paces and ways) and how it is not something to be rushed. They all eventually find their way, and it is not about the end result but about the process and experiences getting there.
But I found myself comparing this to other aspects in life as well. How often do we rush through things? Big or small? Whether it be rushing through a craft just to get it done (something I do because I so desperately want to see the end result), or rushing and impatiently waiting on something major and just taking matters into your own hands only to find out the end result would've been better or more successful had we just waited? Those words and the thought of that poor butterfly (something that would no doubt lay heavy on my conscience, as well) really struck me and have caused me to really think tonight. The cliché phrase "Stop and smell the roses" keeps coming to mind but maybe it is something I should really try to do more often.
