I was recently watching a nature program on Netflix that discussed the life of a moth. Unfortunately I can’t seem to remember what type of moth it was but it was very large and beautiful. I remember it saying that once the moth reached it’s adult stage it would only live for about 24 hours and it’s sole purpose was to reproduce. This made me very sad for the moth, realizing that once the moth had finally fully developed it would shortly die. I did some quick research on the general lifespan of gypsy moths and found out that the following time frame for each stage is approximately …
- Eggs- 8-9 months
- Larva (Caterpillar)- 40 days
- Pupa (Cocoon)- 10-14 days
- Adult- 6-10 days
Although 6-10 days is much longer than 24 hours, it is still very short compared to the rest of the moth’s lifespan. This seemed very unfair to me and of course got me thinking. I have often heard the saying “If you are not growing than you are dying”. I know that there have been times in my life where I didn’t seem to be growing/ learning/developing and I have felt very static and even a little diminished. I have also heard of many people who shortly after “reaching” their life’s goals pass away. There may really be something to this notion. I am not advocating for you to never reach your goals. That would be a very depressing presumption. What I am guiding you towards is to always be setting new ones. Your life will develop and go through many stages just like the moth. However, as humans we have a little more control over the number of stages that we go through. If you are finding yourself complete in one area of your life, that is a great thing! Celebrate, and then explore how you are going to grow the next chapter of your life.
