The Butterfly Circus: a Short Film Full of Life Lessons

A simple tale to help you focus on your strengths and not your weaknesses.

Circus tent.fer gomez/Unsplash

Most of my life, I didn’t share my writing with the world. Even though writing has been an essential part of my life since I was old enough to string words together, there was a part of me that worried my writing was never good enough to share.

I wish I had watched the short, The Butterfly Circus, years ago, because since I watched it, I see the world with fresh eyes, but I'll come back to that in a moment.

I can’t be sure if mental illness caused my lack of confidence or if it’s simply part of being a writer. For whatever reason, I felt like I had nothing of value to share. So I wrote, but only for myself.

A few years ago, I decided maybe I was wrong. I started a blog—long since taken down—and shared some of my words under a penname.

A funny thing happened: People responded to what I wrote and sent messages to say they enjoyed it.

Finding Me

At first, I thought I could only publish content under a pseudonym. I was afraid to share my real name because I feared judgement. What if someone didn't like what I wrote? How could I handle it if people pointed out my mistakes? The whole idea filled me with crippling anxiety.

While there is some freedom in writing under a fictitious name, there are also a lot of restrictions. Creating a persona means you can never truly be yourself. It also means your work has to stand alone. There's no writer your readers can look to and connect with on a real world level. The pseudonym you doesn’t really exist. A wall of anonymity creates a divide between you and your readers. It's a chasm I never found a way to close.

That first blog taught me that my words could affect others. In time, it led to me creating a new blog, and to sharing my writing on sites like NewsBreak, Medium, and Vocal.

I stayed stuck for years because I focused on what I thought I couldn’t do. Instead of recognizing that I could write—and in fact have been doing it for decades—I decided I wasn’t capable.

The Butterfly Circus

A few months ago, a friend shared a link with me to The Butterfly Circus. It’s a short film on YouTube that highlights the importance of looking at the things you can do versus the things you can’t.

If you haven’t already watched it, take some time today to enjoy its beauty. The film is under 23 minutes long, so you could even watch it on your lunch break. It's not a new film. In fact, the post date is six years ago, but it's just as powerful today as it was then. Maybe even more so, because the world needs positivity now more than ever.

One character in The Butterfly Circus starts out stuck in his thinking, focused only on the things he can't do. It's not until someone takes an interest in him that he realizes maybe he could be more.

While it would be wonderful if all of us had a champion come along and take an interest in us, sometimes we have to be our own cheerleaders. Sometimes we have to prove to ourselves what we can do, and then, after we do a thing, the world will acknowledge what we are.

This is especially hard when you have a mental illness. I have bipolar disorder, and it often makes me believe only the worst about myself. I know those things aren’t true, but my illness makes me believe they are my only reality.

Like the man in the movie, I’m repeatedly stuck on the things I can’t do. Even though I’ve been successfully writing online for years now, most days, I don’t believe my writing is any good. I don’t think my words have any value or that anyone wants to read them. And often I’m wrong.

A circus performer in a circus tent.Mark Williams/Unsplash

Take the Step

In The Butterfly Circus, the character makes a transformation only after he tests himself to see what he can do. Once he achieves one success, he feels more confident to try new things.

That’s true for all of us. When you prove to yourself what you can do, the power of your success propels you forward so you can do even more.

If there’s an idea you want to try but you’re afraid to start, I encourage you to watch this film. Think of yourself as you watch the character’s transformation. Put yourself in his place and apply what he learns to your life. Then think about what you can do to change your world today.

You don’t have to try to fly your first day, but you have to start somewhere. Take a step and see what you can do. The results may surprise you.

Until next time, keep fighting.