Attraction Mind Map

Before you hastily dismiss my post and plead with me not to waste your time over a Caterpillar story that really should be on The Animal Planet or Discovery channel, hear me out. Counting over the duplicates in its submission, this show on Youtube has already generated close to 1 million views and over 600 mainly positive comments.

No, I’m not referring to a show depicting the popular Children’s story “The Hungry Caterpillar” written by Eric Carle, in my post today. Instead, the show I would like to discuss, is about a pair of caterpillars set in a tea plantation. Even though the segment was shot for a Japanese-Thai TV commercial, I thought it could be used to highlight some interesting life lessons.

If you haven’t seen it already, watch the embedded video below….(it may take a few minutes for download; but trust me, it is worth the wait)….

Enjoyed it?

My kids were so tickled by it; they made me play it over and over again - a total of 8 times!!

That’s when I got thinking about the show seriously.

Hence…..

Put on the kettle,
Boil some water and
With the best tea leaves that you can rummage from your kitchen, make some green tea.

In between slooooww savoring sips of hot tea, I suggest you read on - to see if you share similar thoughts about what we can learn from the story -

1) Stick To Your Goals. The goal was to enjoy the tea leaves at the top of the stalk. The baby caterpillar got whacked by his father when he wanted to go off course. The baby caterpillar who initially felt that any tea leaf will do, was soon won over by his father’s conviction not to sell himself out. Whether the goal to reach the top for the best leaves was the right one to make or not, would not be the point for discussion here. Because this was what they wanted, through positive thinking, sheer determination and sticking to their goal, they finally did reach the top. Only thing was that the tea leaves at the top were no longer there.

“Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.”
— Quoted from Bo Jackson

How many of us set goals, only to abandon them halfway and claim that they do not work? I’ve been particularly guilty of this. However, I now realise that in order to succeed, never quit or give up. This is what seperates the successful from the rest.

Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragement, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak”
— Quoted from Thomas Carlyle (Scottish Historian and Essayist, leading figure in the Victorian era. 1795-1881)

2) Detach Emotionally From The End Goal. Both caterpillars were emotionally attached to their end goal - the tea leaves at the top. The baby caterpillar eventually became so disappointed when he reached the top of the stalk and could not find that the promised “gourmet meal” there. Had he not been so emotionally attached, he might have not been so affected and gone back to eat tea leaves lower down the stalk.

I am not suggesting that it is bad to have goals and never to have them. In fact, goals can serve the purpose of providing you with a roadmap and a direction to take.

The problem comes when we tie our emotional state with the outcomes that we so desire and when we don’t achieve what we have worked so hard for, we crumble. Our state of happiness becomes externally rather than internally derived. It is contingent on the attainment of a future event. We forget to Live in the Now. The solution is partly explained in point #3 next.

3) Enjoy The Journey. Did you notice the difference in moods after the father caterpillar carry the baby caterpiller on its back? They were singing songs to affirm their goals. They were clearly having a good time, while enjoying the journey to the top.

I quite suspect that they have read tip #1 from 7 Jazzy Ideas to Making Affirmations Fun on my blog! To be honest, I was even tempted to sing along with both caterpillars. That’s when it made me think about how making that shift in feeling helps, while on one’s life journey or even for any goal setting venture.

Here is what is mostly true…

“Too often we are so preoccupied with the destination, we forget the journey.” —Unknown

It would help if we can ask ourselves some important life questions: Should we only be happy when we’ve reached the top? What happens when we reach the top, like the caterpillar, but the fruits of success are not there for us to savor? How do we be happy every moment, even while we have not reached our end goal?

When we start to ask ourselves these questions, our rigid perspective about life starts to change. We find ourselves lightening up and enjoy ourselves while on the journey. In fact, joy is a good vibrational energy to exude because according to the law of attraction, you will start to attract outcomes of the same frequency (which in all likelihood includes the goal that you have intended for).

“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”
Quoted from Greg Anderson (American best-selling Author and founder of the American Wellness Project., b.1964)

Useful Reminder: If the journey along the way becomes really difficult, you know that you can always rely on my 7 Tips to Surviving Tough Times! I know I’m a lifesaver…*blush*!!

4) Do The Right “Asking”. I found it amusing that the baby caterpillar, while standing at the top of the tea stalk, was depicted sending out his vibrational intent to the farmer, It was as if he understood the power of focused mental thought. However, did it occur to you that while he wanted to apply this power, he might have not been “asking” for his desires in the right manner?

If you can recall, his thoughts were “Give me the top tea leaves. Give me the top tea leaves. Give me the top tea leaves.” It became a relentless desire of just that few tea leaves. As the farmer also wanted the same, it became a case of who had the stronger intent.

“Willing” the farmer to give up the top tea leaves is to operate on scarcity. It is almost like wanting to strike a lottery and asking the Universe to make your ticket the one with the winning number, even while there are millions out there, having the same wish. Well, the law of attraction does not work as effectively for lottery tickets, as explained by SaiF in his blog post here.

To apply the Law of Attraction, you also need to understand the principle of abundance. By focusing on just one way of obtaining your desires, you are believing that the Universe is scarce and can only offer you one solution. You are also stifling creativity in your thoughts. By wishing that others give up their desires for your sole pleasure, also works on scarcity.

There is no doubt that the Universe is abundant. While climbing stalks to the top may seem the obvious way to obtain the best tea leaves, who really knows in what multiple ways the Universe can grant you your desires? Fallen droplets from drinks made with the best tea leaves, by farmers quenching their thirst? A sudden gust of strong wind that managed to blow off top tea leaves to the ground? A basket of top tea leaves toppled by a careless farmer? Maybe……. but get the idea that there can really be endless possibilities of getting your wishes fulfilled?

Power of Pure Intent For The Caterpillar

Photo credit: On Flickr

Perhaps, a better way forward for the caterpillar would be to picture in his mind, fat and juicy leaves. It really does not matter where it comes from - top, middle or low lying leaves - or whether tea, coffee (???) or banana leaves. The idea is to keep that very image, and enjoy every bite in his meals. Know that the Universe, in all its abundance, will keep the leaves coming!

To end off this post in just a while, here’s another video, featuring the same baby caterpillar, but portrayed differently. His goal was now made with a different intent - “LOVE” - and a much stronger one -

Hope it did for you what it did for me - A Smile!

P.S. I was all smiles yesterday too! I like to share that I received the best Mother’s Day presents so far, from all my years of being a mum. A total of 9 home made cards, 3 paper roses, a bracelet lovingly made with hand-painted beads of hearts and sincere wishes of “May all Your Dreams Come True”! You would think I had a party going on. I didn’t. Or that I have 9 kids. I don’t. All gifts and well wishes came from my 2 lovely girls. I felt truly abundant once again…I can’t resist smiling even now as I type

For all moms visiting my blog, Happy Belated Mother’s Day!

For all, including moms, let’s “Cheers to Green Tea”!

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