Before the Birth of a Butterfly…

Living in the midst of nature gives the opportunity to experience its divine beauty in various forms, and photography is the ideal way to capture that beauty.

Today’s subject of awe are caterpillars, who undergo dramatic transformation from being tiny insects into beautiful butterflies or moths. We’ve found different types of caterpillars – one completely camouflaged with the plant, and another one stung Clyde while he was passing by a mango tree and accidentally touched it. Here’s a short collection of caterpillar pictures.

Parasa Lepida, the stinging caterpillar

Caterpillars are voracious eaters

Feeding on Oleander leaves is the Common Indian Crow, as the name suggests, there are plenty of them around. The spiral tentacles of the caterpillar is very fractal-like designand the vivid colours makes it look attractive. Throughout its life the caterpillar stays on the underside of the leaves.

Common Indian Crow caterpillar with spiral tentacles

Caterpillar with black, white and yellow bands making its way up on a wild plant.

Caterpillar with yellow and black bands

The flora and fauna of Uttaranchal in North India is extremely vibrant and breath-taking, here’s a small part of the rich ecosystem on the way to Valley of Flowers.

Caterpillar found in the Valley of flowers

Some more of the fuzzy black caterpillars.

Hairy caterpillar on a coconut

This one camouflaged with the tree bark.

Hairy caterpillar camoflauged with the tree bark at National park

Most caterpillars shed their skin four or five times as their bodies grow, and they eventually transform into an adult. Here the caterpillar, hanging upside down, emerging from his cocoon.

Caterpillars moulting or shedding its outer skin

They are often called ‘eating machines”, as they eat leaves most of the time which is used when they go in hibernation to develop into a fully grown butterfly. Here an army of caterpillars feeding on the leaves, many of them stick to the same kind of plant.

The voracious eaters

Green caterpillar with red, black and white spots on the car bonnet.

Green caterpillar

Like an old proverb – ‘Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly,’ in the next series we shall bring you the fluttering butterflies that have caught our eye.

7 Easy Ways to Make Tough Decisions

1. Be in a Good MoodYou were speeding during your commute, then wound up late with a traffic ticket and unable to beat the guy who’s after your gig. But don’t fret—if you do, it might kill your job security. Starting out the work day pissed is dangerous because your mood influences the decisions you make, says Don Moore, Ph.D, an associate management professor at the University of California, Berkeley and coauthor of Judgment in Managerial Decision Making. “If it’s a question of ‘should we take the risk?’ you’re more likely to say ‘yes’ if you’re in an angry mood,” he says. So cheer up—it’s just a citation.

2. Avoid DistractionsIf your days fill up fast but you know there’s a big decision looming, set aside enough time to thoroughly mull it over. Better yet, designate 30 to 45 minutes for deliberations first thing in the morning before your day gets away from you, suggests Mike Staver, author of Leadership Isn’t For Cowards and founder of The Staver Group, a performance-consulting firm for businesses. The key, though, is to avoid interruptions—keep Outlook off—so you’re only focused on the decision at hand.

3. Start EarlyAfter a long call with your supervisor in the morning, you learn that some of your best workers may be let go tomorrow … and he’s charged you with trimming them. Tough as it is, don’t procrastinate to avoid the axing, Moore says. “Hurrying through those complex decisions late in the day when you’re trying to get out and you’re feeling stressed is not a good plan.” (Slay stress and build mental muscle with these 27 Ways to Power Up Your Brain.)

4. Call for HelpBeing a boss has its perks, but constantly making a company’s life and death decisions doesn’t seem like one of them. And when you’re overtaxed but need to make snap choices based on too little information, your intuition can bias you enough to make mistakes and get burnt out. “Decision fatigue leads people to make worse decisions,” Moore says. Your move: ask for help and allocate the most stressful parts to empty your plate. When the time is right, you’ll make a more informed choice.

5. Assess the AftermathNow that your employees spent hours compiling more than enough information for you to make the call, wade through it all with these questions in mind: What does it mean for the company’s bottom line? Does it empower you or weaken you within the firm? Is it legal, let alone ethical? “It’s when the decisions get divorced from your own values that you’re more likely to do something you regret later,” Moore says. Try the wife test: If you can’t go home and explain to the Mrs. what’s happening at work, speak up and lay out a case that’s more aligned with your values.

6. Make Your ChoiceAfter a long day and a quick glance around the office—your intern is dozing off and your papers are scattered around Chinese takeout containers—it’s judgment hour. If you have enough information and feel like you’re ready to make a decision, do it. If not, don’t. “Say ‘If you need a decision from me now, the answer’s no. If we can have more time, I would like to reflect on it and gather more data,” Moore says. There’s nothing wrong with spending a little overtime to get things right.

7. Thank the Supporting CastA few of your best employees stayed late with you at the office as your decision hit the “Yes, we’re doing this” or “No, we can’t justify it” hour. You couldn’t have done it without them, so how can you recognize their hard work? Skip the email and actually write out a thank-you note to each member of the team that specifically mentions how their contribution helped you out, Staver says. They’re likely to appreciate it more than a few slices of pizza or special parking space. (Searching for more ways to be a friendlier boss? Learn 3 Secrets Every Manager Must Know.)

how to be happy!>>>

1. Be kind in small ways. Let someone in into your lane while driving your car. Hold up the door or hold the elevator for a stranger. Not just because that you tend to get back what you give in some form. But for yourself too, these little things add up and make you feel better about yourself.
2. Be appreciative of other people. Replace the habit of spotting the things that annoy you about people with one where you make small or big positive observations about them. It could be their great sense of style when it comes to shoes, how they always make you laugh when you need it or simply that they are always on time. Be sure to tell them that.
3. Cut back on the time you spend with most negative person in your life. And spend more time with the most positive person(s).
4. Cut out or cut down on the most negative media influence in your life. It could be the news on TV, the newspaper, some magazine or type of music, type of books or blogs or websites. Replace that time and find new energy and inspiration from one or more positive sources like inspiring movies and books. Or uplifting music and people.
5. Be 5 or 10 minutes early. This will make travel time a time of relaxation and renewal rather than a time of stress and negativity added to your day. Plus, you’ll be on time.
6. Do what is not “you”. Try a new dish for lunch. Read a book or watch a movie that is not in your usual genre. Learn a little about a topic that is not something you are usually into. This is a great and fun way to find new perspectives in life, to grow and to expand your comfort zone just a little on a daily or weekly basis. Cultivating this habit also makes it easier to get out of your comfort zone when larger and “scarier” opportunities present themselves.
7. Let go of one thing from your past. Clinging on to an old conflict, argument or that you were wronged by someone can consume a lot of time, energy and space in your life. It can also be oddly comforting since you are so used to it. But life happens right now, day by day. And as Jan Glidewell once said:“You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present.”So to stop hurting yourself you have to accept that what is in your mind is in the past now. By accepting that it is in the past but also in there inside of you as a memory you can start to decrease the hold this memory has over you. By accepting that is there and that you need to let go to live your life fully now that memory will lose much of its power. And you can let go.
8. Take the smarter and higher road. Don’t be someone the people can walk all over, set boundaries and say no when needed. But recognize that unnecessary conflicts just waste your time and energy. And that some people are so addicted to the drama and conflicts that you will never win or reach an understanding between the two of you. There are more fun and good things to spend time on in your life. So try to reach an understanding. But if it doesn’t work then remove yourself from getting drawn into their conflicts and make the day better for both you and possibly them.
9. Be kind to yourself. The next time you make a mistake or fail don’t treat yourself like a jerk of a boss would. Instead, be kind, see what you can learn from what happened, gently nudge yourself in the right direction again and keep going.
10. Appreciate yourself. It’s OK and something that a lot of people don’t do enough. Spend 5 minutes tonight with thinking about or writing down in journal the things you can appreciate about yourself and how far you have come. Do this enough times – try 30 days – to change  how you view yourself on a more permanent level.

some beautiful sayings...

Lead me to Your heart<3

1. Maybe my life hasn’t been so chaotic, it’s just the world that is and the only real trap is getting attached to any of it.

          

2. Take chances, take a lot of them. Because honestly, no matter where you end up with and with whom, it always ends up just the way it should be. Your mistakes make you who you are.  You learn and grow with each choice you make. Everything is worth it. Say how you feel, always. Be you and be okay with it.

         

3. When everything seems like it’s falling apart, that’s when God is putting things together just the way He wants it.

      

4. The only reason why people hold on to memories so tightly is because memories are the only things that don’t change when everyone else does.

           

5. Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen.

        

6. But the struggles make you stronger, and the changes make you wise, and happiness has its own way of taking its sweet time.

          

7. Having a rough morning? Place your hand over your heart. Feel that? That’s called purpose. You’re alive for a reason. Don’t give up.

            

8. Being a Christian doesn’t mean I have everything I want in my life. It means that I trust God that He will provide me in everything I need in my life.

9. Happiness keeps you sweet. Sorrow keeps you human. Life keeps you humble. Success keeps you glowing. But only GOD keeps you going.

       

10. “There is no fear in love; perfect love casts away fear…” 1 John 4:18

11. To hear God’s voice, we must turn down the world’s volume.

        

12. The world sees only what you do. God sees why you do it.

       

13. “I have been crucified in CHRIST; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

          

14. I love Jesus, because in our crazy, messy world, HE IS MY PEACE.

        

15. Dear Jesus, 

Sometimes, I’m afraid of letting you have complete control of my life. Show me how to be a “yes” kind of girl, like Mary was, and use me to bring You to others. 

Amen.

16. You are my rock in times of trouble, You lift me up when I fall down, Your love is the anchor. My hope is in You alone.

17. God has perfect timing; never early and never late and it takes a little patience and a lot of faith.

18. Never think that what you have to offer is insignificant. There will always be someone out there that needs what you have to give.

        

19. Remember when you leave this Earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received. Only what you have given.

           

20. Nothing is permanent in this wicked world. Not even our troubles.

         

source taken from different books and sites.