The Effect of a Butterfly

The moth "was little or nothing but life". With his existence serving no purpose but to represent another instance of the inevitability of death, the moth dances by himself. Having no affect on the vast existence of humankind, why does the moth exist? Is the ineffectual aspect of the moth due to his diminutive size in an already microscopic world, or the fact that he can't change the outcome of events? Yes, the moth in "The Death of a Moth" virtually affects nothing other than a small, mindless experience of the narrator, yet his more attractive friend may surpass the strength of death: the butterfly. Physically, of course, the butterfly cannot overcome death, but metaphorically, bounds can be reached. The simple flapping of the butterfly can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world, sound familiar? The moth lives for the simple purpose of living; the butterfly lives for the not-so-simple purpose of change. One could argue that in the grand scheme of things, the butterfly too is inefficacious in his purpose and all his actions are futile since those that he affects will, too, die... You're welcome for giving you an existential crisis.

Most people, just like the moth, mindlessly commit actions simply just to survive. Why do all of us put ourselves through the stress and effort of taking 1000000 AP classes? Because that's what "we must do" to survive. Yet the butterfly effortlessly flaps his wings and unintentionally makes an enormous impact. Hopefully we can all live and make change like the butterfly, but with bigger intentions.



I had to blur out one of the words to make this "school appropriate", please appreciate the cartoon ;-;