“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” – Maya Angelou
The butterfly is a universal symbol of transformation. It is not a conscious transformation. The butterfly doesn’t decide to one day become a butterfly. It is part of its natural growth. It has its own rhythm. The growth happens without force or coercion. The monarch butterfly migrates each year. It is a mystery that it knows the exact same tree to hibernate in. It is not certain how they navigate their way.
They just do.
They find a way.
There is a beauty in the unfolding. We don’t always see all the answers at once. Things are slowly revealed. We get a glimpse of the mystery. It is a reminder that life doesn’t stand still. My child does not stay the same. Growth can happen over years or overnight. I have witnessed slow transformation in some ways and quick in others.
This is a reminder that this child can be a mirror. She reflects when I need to trust in the process. Growth means expansion and sometimes contraction before the unfurling – a few steps back to move forward – an exercise of the will. Growth can be migration – both the movement away and the return.
Butterflies also symbolize lightness of being.
How can I bring a lightness to this transformation process especially when I lose sight of the natural unfolding of this little child?
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100 scribbles…hurriedly writing the here and now.
#100scribbles
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