The butterfly

You see a butterfly and take it in your hands.

You notice its beauty and take it into your heart hoping to keep it there You close your hands to keep the butterfly from flying away.

With happiness you think ... "Now I can keep it with me forever".

Soon your happiness fades away because the butterfly’s beauty isn’t the same  anymore.

Part of the butterfly’s beauty was its freedom.

The butterfly feels betrayed.

Something cruel is keeping it away from its freedom.

In panic the butterfly tries to set itself free but it’s helpless It only gets tighter.

Noticing that the butterfly must be feeling bad You open your hands and set it free.

The butterfly flies away thankful to be free again.

Then you think about an old saying that you had long forgotten ...

If you love something ..... set it free

If it comes back .............. it’s yours

If it doesn’t ..................... it never was.

(Sarah Mengel)