by Edward Moses

Created on: November 26, 2009

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

For as long as I can recall, the Butterfly has been a source of wonder and fascination to me. Not only for its beauty and graceful appearance but equally, its freedom to do whatever it chooses and go wherever it wants. As a student attending St. Mary's College in Trinidad my English teacher, Rev. Fr. James Cahill, a multi-talented, brilliant teacher, spoke of the Butterfly Effect Theory in the context of the famous quotation from Paul Erlich:

The Fluttering of a Butterfly's wings can affect climate changes,

on the other side of the planet

He explained that in the same way that the small wings of a butterfly when used correctly can change weather conditions worldwide, even cause hurricanes or change their direction, so also can anyone of us, at the right time, affect the lives of those around us or even far beyond for good, or for bad. He then went on to stress the importance of making the right choices during our growth and development and equally, avoiding the wrong ones, to ensure our metamorphosis to our full potential.

I have often reflected on the butterfly's lifecycle, which to me represented a true microcosm of life as it should be. As it undergoes the transformation from a clumsy, ugly, helpless caterpillar, through being trapped in a cocoon and finally emerging a beautiful, delicate-winged creature capable of changing the world, it exactly models our own cycle of life. We too, must undergo a transformation from the clumsiness and total dependence of childhood through a period of restrictive, controlled adolescence to emerge as a proud confident adult.

I am sure we can all recall times in our lives when we have had to face situations which made us feel as small as a butterfly, convinced that the little we can do will make almost no difference to the lives of those around us. Little do we realize that some times what we do may truly result in significant changes in the lives of people around us, or even to history itself. Such changes would never have happened had we not taken the initiative to step forward in good faith.

Consider the young Albanian woman called Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, who in 1950 travelled to India to help the poor, suffering street people and as Mother Teresa, started a movement that has spread worldwide and continues to administer to millions of the most needy people. And the young Scottish physician, Alexander Fleming, who discovered the healing properties of a lowly fungus and subsequently extracted the antibiotic Penicillin which has and continues to save many millions of lives. These are but two outstanding examples of the success of the Butterfy Effect Theory that is happening around us daily. If you just reflect a moment, I have no doubt that you will readily think of many examples in your own life where your action has resulted in benefit to others or alternatively, others have done things that have helped you.

If you haven't done so, maybe you should. So that the next time you see a butterfly happily flying around, you will take time to remember it's potential impact on the world and remind yourself that you too can achieve the same.

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