The Bookwyrm

Wings of Achievement

Among the most beautiful and baffling creatures in the world are the butterflies. Their light, fragile bodies are carried by sets of intricate, beautiful wings. Each of these wings is as unique as a human fingerprint. Each wing is coated in a hide of scales, like the skin of a dragon, and the colors formed by those scales create some of the most beautiful spectacles of the natural world. The wings of different species have unique patterns that can help them stand out amongst the world, or blend in to hide from those that would do them harm. 

These wings, though beautiful, are more than works of art. They allow these creatures to perform tasks that are vital for their survival and the survival of our planet. Every year, a subspecies of the monarch butterfly will let its wings carry it from across southern Canada and the US all the way down to Mexico, traveling in some cases up to 3,000 miles. They come to hide from the frigid cold of the winter, find solace with their kin in the warmth of the south. Entire trees, entire forests, are drowned in their orange wings. These butterflies and all others fuel the lifeblood of the Earth’s ecosystem through pollination. They take the seeds of seeds from one flower to the next, allowing the next generation of vital plants to grow, and pushing our world another step forward.

And yet along with their majesty comes a fragility. It does not take much to destroy the wing of a butterfly. A careless touch, a thoughtless step. A work of art ruined forever. Once a butterfly cannot be carried into the air by its wings, it’s doomed to fall behind, unable to reach the sustenance that fuels it, unable to flee from the onslaught of the fading warmth, unable to work to push the planet’s life forward. With the strength comes weakness.

Though we recognize the beauty and strength of the butterflies’ wings, they do not always have such powerful, beautiful tools. When a butterfly lays eggs on an isolated leaf, the creature that comes forth could not look more different from the majestic flier from whence it came. A small larva, a caterpillar, a worm with little legs, forced to explore a vast world at a snail’s pace. It must work, search, hunt for sustenance needed to grow. It must avoid obstacle and danger and yet move forward at the same time. They, against the odds, grow. Perhaps unwittingly reaching for the reality of the sky above. 

Eventually, they’re ready. They shed their old selves one last time, isolating themselves from the world to change. Wrapped in their chrysalis, the caterpillar dissolves, its very body breaking apart at the lowest level to rebuild itself into something new. After weeks of a devastating change, they come out, shaky and wet, climbing onto their leaf or branch, and take a moment to bask in their new reality, bask in the majesty of the wings on their back as they dry out and unfurl. The creature that comes from the chrysalis seems alien from the one that went in. And yet, in the very DNA of the caterpillar, the reality of the butterfly was always there. No, it didn’t always have wings. But it was always destined to. The butterfly’s very wings are made of the achievements of the caterpillar.

The wandering albatross, though a vastly different creature, also has wings. These wings are the largest in the world, and among the farthest flying. These birds live isolated on islands in the ocean and have the capacity to travel distances over a third of the circumference of the planet. They live harsh lives and achieve great things. Greater, perhaps, than the achievements of the butterfly…

Many other creatures in the world have wings. There are a myriad of birds in the world, from deadly falcons to delicate hummingbirds. Other insects fly on wings, from the smallest mayfly living for hours after its sudden transformation to the industrious bees that buzz and work in colonies to push nature forward. Even bats, from a family of flightless creatures, have grown to be able to take to the skies, navigating flawlessly with the power of their voice and ears.

Does this mean the rest of us, doomed to the ground, cannot achieve great things? No. The tardigrade, a small creature, invisible to most, able to survive in places of great harm to anything else. Mantis shrimp, able to see sights and colors beyond the ken of other things. Cheetahs, which run faster than anything on the ground; Killer whales, hunting and killing what many others consider the ultimate hunters; Immortal Jellyfish, pushing their lives past what should be possible.

Humans, building and learning and growing and connecting and loving and knowing and pushing the boundaries of the world itself.

Each of us has our own wings, our own skills and abilities that we have worked hard and long for. Though we didn’t start with these wings, we grew and we reached, undergoing drastic changes based on our experiences to gain the wings that let us do great things. For some of us, we have multiple chrysalises, for our wings only let us move higher, let us reach for the next set, that will let us reach for the next, an eternal progression into the sky of achievement.

Sometimes we seem like the butterfly next to an albatross. A creature so much larger, so much stronger than us, able to fly farther and faster for longer. We look at our own wings and despair, for how could we ever be like them?

But what is the worth of the butterfly’s wings to the butterfly? Infinite. Unimaginable. The wings are bringers of life, of prosperity. On the scale of our own lives, our achievements mean far more than we can comprehend when we compare them to the achievements of others. We must accept our strength, accept our ability, accept our beauty and importance. For an albatross that can fly a third of the world cannot help a flower grow.

Climb. Grow. Search for your wings. And once you have them, find the next goal, and fly on.