Butterfly and Bee

Which are you and how do you best contribute?

The Butterfly and the Bee

Just over the fence in my back yard is a beautiful field. It looks like it is filled with weeds, but if you take the time and look closely, you will see that there are wildflowers hidden everywhere. Many animals and insects love this field and call it home. Among the insects are a butterfly and a bee.

Now the butterfly and the bee are both insects, for sure. They should have the same attitude toward the field. The reality is that they see it very differently. One visits it like a smorgasbord and the other like a destination.

The butterfly is fascinated with the field. He flies from one wildflower to another. Every bloom is unique. He greets each day with enthusiasm because he knows that today he will find a flower that is even more beautiful than the ones he found yesterday. Each one is unique and sweet and colorful. He does not think about it much, but he serves each flower well. Each flower has its own need, produces its own pollen, and within its own lifespan, produces seed and reproduces itself.

Unintentionally the butterfly, in his indiscriminate way, flits from flower to flower, loving each one and accidentally spreading the pollen from one flower to a like flower, sometimes he pollinates the plant, but mostly he just spends his time pleasing himself in the process of visiting as many flowers as he can.

In the same field there is a bee. He flies a long way from his hive to visit the field. Brother bees have told him that a special type of flower is blooming here. He is intentional and purposeful. He goes from special flower to special flower, ignoring all the other plants that bloom. He is dedicated to this flower of choice. He gathers nectar and covers his body with pollen in the process. On the next flower, his body distributes pollen as he gathers nectar. This special flower is pollinated and fulfilled. Next year, the field will have more and more special flowers thanks to the visit from the bee.

When the bee has swallowed as much nectar as he can hold, he begins his long flight home. There his nectar will be turned into honey and nourish the other members of the hive and the yet unborn bees.

Day after day, the butterfly and the bee repeat their visit to the field. Each in their own way, perpetuating the flowers and their kind.

As happens every year, winter comes. The butterfly searches for flowers, but they have all gone to seed and lost their appeal. No longer colorful, they fall among the brown leaves of grass, and then sleep under the snow. Butterfly loses strength and falls among the dying flowers; his job has ended. A new spring arrives, and the seeds burst and flowers bloom. They attract new visits from the butterflies and the bees.

Bee searches for the last of the special flowers. When the last one has been visited, he flies the long trip home one last time, never to return to the field.

At the hive he sits in a corner, watching the honey form, knowing it will feed the hive throughout the long winter when there are no flowers to visit. Come spring, strong, fresh bees will make the long flight, searching for special flowers, finding nectar and the process will begin again. Bee quietly buzzes his last as he knows his job is done and his commitment to the future of the hive has been fulfilled.

The cycle repeats itself. A butterfly bursts forth from a chrysalis where his caterpillar stage has morphed into a new butterfly. The field is filled with fresh new flowers that have poked up through the decomposing ground cover. Joyfully he flits from flower to flower, enjoying each one and spreading the effervescence of his colorful flight as he passes around the field.

A new bee ventures into the field, selects a special flower and returns to the hive to share the news of his find with all who will watch his directional dance and listen to his buzzing song. The hive will prosper and grow.

The circle of life repeats itself. Each one does his part and contributes to the beauty and vitality of the field and their species. Is there more value in serving the hive, or in pleasing oneself? It is a rhetorical question. Each goes about the field in his own way and each flower welcomes the butterfly and the bee with color and uniqueness.

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Comments? Observations? Do you see yourself? Are you a butterfly or a bee?

Karenmac1999@hotmail,com