Every experience can bring so much insight about life. Just the other day I was driving down the road and a butterfly flew into my windshield wiper. It wasn’t raining and the windshield wipers were not on, but because the butterfly was not focused, it got stuck in a bad situation. Despite the creature’s beauty, elaborate design and grace, it was still stuck. The butterfly quickly found itself in a situation requiring more than beauty and gift.

In respect to our lives, it is not that our inventory is lacking gifted people. In fact, just take a visit to the prisons and you will soon discover that they are full of talented and gifted individuals. What seems to be lacking is our ability to focus.

Individuals can be categorized in different classifications. There are those who are focused, but they would rather concentrate on the negative and oppressive aspect. If you have lived long enough, at one time or another you have encountered an individual like this. They are always pessimistic about everything. These are the fault finders. If you join forces with them they will cause your vision to blur and cause you to focus on what cannot be done. Fault finders live miserable lives and we know the old adage, “Misery loves company.” Since their lives are dissatisfying, they don’t want anyone else’s life to be enjoyable.

Then there are those who are focused, but not as much as we should be. We have those moments when we seem to be getting our lives in order. Our relationships grow stronger, we find peace on our jobs and our social lives are fantastic. Then it seems that out of nowhere a situation, circumstance, or an unfocused individual appears and interrupts our focus. Before long, like the butterfly we find ourselves stuck. Although still talented and gifted we have become stuck in issues associated with an unfocused life.

The beauty of the butterfly, as it is with life, is that it creates what is known as the “butterfly effect.” For instance, a butterfly that flaps its wings in South America can affect the weather miles away in Selma, Alabama.

When we are not focused, the shortcomings of our gifts and talents have far reaching effects. The community gets a black eye due to untamed talent. No one can deny our intelligence or our gift. However, families and communities suffer greatly when individuals lose focus or remain immature. On the other hand, when we learn to focus on using our talents for the better of humanity, we remove ourselves from fault finders and experience joy like we have never known before.

Flies hang around things that are decaying or dead. You will never find a butterfly among the dead. Instead butterflies always grace the beautiful and natural scenes of life.

Rep.-elect Darrio Melton will represent Dallas County in the Alabama Legislature.