Tattered Wings

The butterfly bush got it’s name for a reason. This bush near the state road garage in Glen Ferris was so full of butterflies that it looked like the scene of a movie. Multiple species of Swallowtail were swarming the blooms. One particular Pipevine Swallowtail caught my eye. The wings were pretty torn up. Presumably from multiple bird attacks. The butterfly obviously had plenty of opportunities to just give up and let a bird take her but here she was. Going about her daily life as if nothing ever happened.

We often see the moment a butterfly emerges from the crysalis with it’s beautiful wings in full glory but we don’t often see the wings after the daily challenges of a lifetime in the wild. At first this might seem like a downer. But let me tell you now that it’s not. Why? Because this butterfly personifies a winner. This is what a winner looks like. This butterfly has obviously overcome adversity.

As often as have been advised on how to be successful in anything the one piece of advice that comes up consistently is “Don’t give up.” Sure there’s a lot more to it but in order to perform the other tasks you have to not give up before reaching that point.

Pop culture has given us the picture of a winner as a person who has always done it right, never making a mistake and just casually strolling into victory. That’s a lie. Even a person who we would consider to be a savant in a particular field has had to overcome struggles of one kind or another. We don’t really notice the that person’s “tattered wings” because we’re focused on the accomplishment and not the struggle that got them there.

As I drew closer to the butterfly trying to get a better frame showing just how shredded the wings were she proved just how mastery of the air she still has as she lifted effortlessly from the bloom and moved out of my reach between frames.

Since there was more butterflies there than I could count I chose not to pressure her any farther. I was still looking for a Spicebush Swallowtail in the first place and part of not giving up includes being focused on the goal.

I didn’t find the particular species that I was looking for that day in spite of getting several nice photos that I will be releasing in upcoming posts. But I did get encouragement to keep on keeping on.

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