Catapillars and Change

I've always had an intrigue with butterflies. There's something so tangibly metaphoric about them that almost everyone can relate with on some level. Whether you are struggling to believe you can actually transform from a fuzzy worm to a fluttering beauty, or you are spending time in your cocoon working through a transition or maybe you have been flying only to get water on your wings and realize you may be going through a metamorphosis all over again, all stages are important and all stages have lessons and growth to be gained. We are all butterflies with beauty to unveil! Sometimes you just need someone to remind you of your divine nature :)

A story is told of a caterpillar named Yellow who was trying to find out what she should be doing with her life. In her wanderings she discovered another caterpillar seemingly caught in some gauzy, hairy filament. Concerned, she asked if she could help. He explained that this was all part of the process of becoming a butterfly.

When she heard the word butterfly, her whole insides leapt. "But what is a butterfly?"

The cocooned caterpillar explained: "It's what you are meant to become."

Yellow was intrigued but a bit defiant. "How can I believe there's a butterfly inside you or me when all I see is a fuzzy worm?"

On further reflection she pensively asked, "How does one become a butterfly?"

And the answer? "You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar." (From Trina Paulus, Hope for the Flowers [New York: Paulist Press, 1972], pp. 67­75.)