Tale of the Ladybug

As I was pulling out of the parking lot in Sioux Falls this afternoon, I noticed a ladybug perched on the outside of my windshield. When the vehicle was parked, it was a pretty safe warm place for a bug. As I began driving, I watched the little bug cling tenaciously to the window, despite the strong air currents blowing all around it. At first, it seemed like an exercise in strength but then it occurred to me that it was really an exercise in futility.

While that little ladybug thought it needed to put all it's energy into desperately clinging to the window, I knew that the wind would only get stronger and stronger the faster I drove. Eventually, the very thing that was keeping the bug in the same place would be the downfall of the small creature and would consume all it's energy. The longer the bug stayed on the window, the harder it was for him to maintain that position.

That little bug could have decided to take a chance right away and fly off but it decided to remain in the one spot of safety. Little did it know that the prime spot of safety would eventually become the most dangerous. The faster I drove, the more the little bug hung on. By that point, that little guy had absolutely no control over it's destination. In the beginning, it could have flown anywhere it wanted to, but by attaching itself to my van, the wind would decide it's fate. It finally lost it's grip after about twenty miles and probably lost it's life in the process of being flung off the vehicle at 75mph.

Sadly, this was another good life-lesson for me. I was reminded twice today that sometimes I need to let go of some of the strategies I use in life that were necessary at the moment but might be detrimental going forward.

Don't cling to something so hard it takes all your energy, especially if it's just because it's what you've always done. Sometimes you just have to jump, but not until life slows down and it's safe ;)