Day of the Atlas Moths
A couple of months ago, our Thai friend Loong Thong presented me with eight cocoons and instructed me to tie string around them and hang them from some branches in a shrub in our backyard. So I carefully hung the cocoons as directed and each week when he came to visit he ran to check them. He had learned that we love all things nature when I allowed a large caterpillar to devour all of the leaves of the Thai eggplants in our garden. It was huge, yellow, and had horns. I couldn’t bring myself to kill it knowing that someday it would turn into a large moth or butterfly.
Last Tuesday, while I was unloading our groceries from his truck, he grabbed my arm and pulled me outside. He pointed to the hanging cocoons and to my amazement, there were eight GIANT Atlas moths clinging to the strings. What a sight! Below is a photo of the largest and prettiest one.
Atlas Moth and Cocoon
The life cycle of butterflies and moths has always fascinated me. Beginning life as a tiny egg, then crawling around as a caterpillar, laying dormant in a cocoon and finally emerging as a beautiful flying creature. Being a bit superstitious, perhaps, I wondered if the day was auspicious in any other way. I checked the moon phases, planet alignments and finally the calendar. Aha! It was the first day of Ramadan. I asked a few of my Muslim friends if they had any legends connected to such an occurrence but none of them knew of any such thing. I asked the internet and was directed to a story of a man and a cocoon. Not exactly what I was looking for but I love the story and thought I’d share it:
About Struggling…
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a
small opening appeared. He sat and watched the
butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its
body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop
making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten
as far as it could, and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took
a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit
of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a
swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because
he expected that, at any moment, the wings would
enlarge and expand to be able to support the
body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the
rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body
and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not
understand was that the restricting cocoon and
the struggle required for the butterfly to get
through the tiny opening were Allah’s way of
forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into
its wings so that it would be ready for flight
once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in
our lives. If Allah allowed us to go through our
lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.
We would not be as strong as what we could
have been. We could never “fly”!
I asked for Strength………
And Allah gave me Difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for Wisdom………
And Allah gave me Problems to solve.
I asked for Prosperity………
And Allah gave me Brain and Brawn to work.
I asked for Courage………
And Allah gave me Danger to overcome.
I asked for Love……….
And Allah gave me Troubled people to help.
I asked for Favors………
And Allah gave me Opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted ……..
I received everything I needed!
“fatabâraka-LLahu aHsanu-l khâliqîn”
“So blessed be Allah, the best of creators!”
(Credit: http://www.livingislam.org)
I really identified with the man in this story, as I too have tried to help nature, only to hurt it. And of course, we all struggle.
Btw, if you’re in Chiang Mai and want to see/photograph/learn more about insects, stop by the Siam Insect Zoo. More info is on their website here http://www.malaeng.com/ and http://www.siaminsectzoo.com/
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Blog : Thai by Apisatha Giunca
Blog: English by George Edward Giunca
About the Authors
Photographer George Edward Giunca, and his Thai wife, Apisatha, have traveled around Thailand armed with a circular fisheye lens to create a photo essay on the rich cultural diversity and abundant natural beauty of the Kingdom of Thailand. Fleeing from angry water buffaloes, slapping huge mosquitoes, watching exotic festivals and religious rituals, gorging on delicious spicy food, applying aloe vera cream to sunburned skin, wading through rice paddies, getting drenched to the bone by heavy monsoon rains, and gawking at breath-taking scenery; made it a journey of epic proportions! The result is the book, THAILAND 180º. Later, they traveled extensively through Myanmar, Malaysia, and India, gathering a massive collection of 180º photos. They currently live in Chiang Mai where they continue to blog and are now working on a CHIANG MAI 180º book.
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Here’s How to Order Your Copy of THAILAND 180º Collectors EditionToday!
In Thailand —>>>http://www.thailand180.com/thaiorder.html
The Rest of the world: We are offering our book on Amazon.com, below the list price and I’ll pay for the shipping within the United States! http://amzn.to/1knDPRR
Not Familiar with Our Book???
This show details the origin of 180 Books, a series of art/travel books illustrated with a circular fisheye lens. By using infographics, pictures from our THAILAND 180º book, and never seen before images from our vault, we’ll demonstrate this unique lens and present our unique books.
Also, because there’s nothing to watch on TV, here’s a trailer for our book, “THAILAND 180”
Above is an interactive map of Thailand. If you click on a marker it reveals a photo from our THAILAND 180º book and a link to our blog article about the photo. Go Ahead~ Start Exploring ~Have Some Fun!
