Did I do more harm than good?

Question

I was out walking today when my eyes were intially attracted to a butterfly that was on the ground to my right. I stopped to have a quick look at it to notice that it couldnt' fly very well. I picked it up, it fluttered about in my hand and then flew a bit and landed on my jacket where I could see it better.

It turned out there was a bit of (what looked like) brown leaf which was stuck to one of its wings, which didn't seem fully developed / opened. I made the decision to pull this bit of brown off away from the wing thinking it'd help the butterfly. As I pulled it cafefully off, I noticed a tiny speck of the wing came off too. However, after I pulled it off, the butterfly flew away over my head - something it couldn't do before.

So, I'm thinking was it so panicked that it managed to fly away in terms of a short burst (it fluttered away fairly quickly) or was I able to help it do what it wanted to do in the first place?

I realise that I imposed my will onto something thinking I know best which I feel bad about but I possibly also helped it do something that it wanted to do in the first place?

I also realise that in the grand system, maybe that butterfly was to become food for another creature which I've now deprived it of. So I'm not sure whether I did something worthwhile or not.

If it wasn't worthwhile, then is helping another creature / person frowned upon because it isn't as it should be?

Answer 1

... I realize that I imposed my will...

No you did not. The spirit (in an abstract sense!) brought you and the butterfly together. You played your role, butterfly played its.

Was your intent pure? Have you felt the sacredness of the moment? Were you acting foolishly or have your weighted the possibilities?

Life and death is around us and inside us all the time. The fact that butterfly was on your right is a good sign. Life gives us chances once in a while, sometimes it's a chance to change someone's life - and sometimes it's a chance to have someone change our life, to be in the role of the butterfly.

At the end of the day we are not Gods - we can't foresee all repercussions of our acts, even such simple ones as yours. But we can do our best, and if we do it consistently then in the long run we will all be in the best place we could have possibly been.