The Work Within

Happy Meaningful Monday! A few years ago, I came across this little friend in my local park. I was mesmerized by its beauty and its willingness to stop by for a quick hello. For some reason, this encounter has stayed with me and butterflies continue to appear in my life and in my online travels (thank you, AI algorithms). Additionally, a dear friend of mine introduced me to The Butterfly Effect and ever since, I have been fascinated by butterflies' gentle strength and significance in our world.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the transformation or metamorphosis that a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly (or moth). And, you guessed it, we can use that transformation as a metaphor for our human experience. While it remains a mystery as to exactly what happens inside of a cocoon or chrysalis as a caterpillar undergoes its transformation, the results are quite clear- a completely different and magnificent creature emerges from the work that is done inside.

And so it goes with us. Like the caterpillar, when we are in times of retreat, reflection, or solitude, there is deep work taking place within us, even though from the outside looking in, it may not seem or feel like much is happening. In the darkness of our proverbial cocoons, we may feel quite lonely and discouraged. Be not discouraged and have patience. The caterpillar absolutely needs this time to become the beautiful butterfly, and arguably, so do we if we are to become the most wonderful expression of ourselves.

Like caterpillars, we all have "the stuff" inside us to make cocoons and become beautiful butterflies in our own ways. What is possible for us as a caterpillar pales in comparison as to what is possible as a butterfly, or even a moth. I encourage you to look around and see how many butterflies you can notice and appreciate the necessary and transformational work that took place to produce them. How many "butterflies" can you see in the people around you? How many "caterpillars" and "cocoons" can you recognize?

This week's suggested reflection and recommended reading is: Hope for the Flowers, by Trina Paulus. You'll be glad you did!