Who You Were Meant to Be
I just turned 78 years old and, for the first time, am experiencing first-hand the life cycle of a butterfly.
Life Cycle in My Garden
A Gulf Fritillary butterfly emerging from it’s chrysalis on a beam in my backyard.
A year and a half ago, I planted a passion flower in my backyard. Little did I know that it’s the one and only source of food for the Gulf Fritillary caterpillar.
After one season, the passion flower was growing aggressively and taking over the stone wall fence where I planted it. Early this second season, I noticed beautiful orange butterflies flitting around the yard. They were lovely, I thought, unaware of what was transpiring. Looks like they love the passion flower.
Then, I noticed little caterpillars crawling up and down my passion flower vines. Interesting, but not so lovely. (I’m not a fan of worm-like creatures.) They loved the passion flower too.
Then, in an explosion of natural metamorphosis, the caterpillars decimated the passion flower and began to create chrysalises all around my yard. Ugh. Oh, no. Not lovely at all. What’s happening?!
Beauty Emerges
I learned that my own little garden is hosting the life cycle of a well-needed pollinator. Black-and-white butterflies are emerging cautiously from their chrysalises, then turning into graceful bright orange beauties. Literally dozens of butterflies are feeding off the nectar of my lantana, desert willow, and moss verbena blooms. The passion flower that looks dead, I'm told, will come back to life with a vengeance and push forward new leaves, stems, and flowers that will host a family of Gulf Fritillary anew.
Who Are We in this Drama?
Maybe we can imagine ourselves in each part of this drama. The passion flower that is decimated through no fault of our own, yet springs back into the lush beauty of our true nature. The caterpillar, hungry for the food that will nourish us into transformation and new life. The chrysalis — maybe a therapy room, or a writing group, or our own inner sanctuary — that gives us the space and time and environment in which to do our work. And then, the beautiful butterfly who emerges from the chrysalis, different yet the same, sure yet uncertain, ready to spread our wings, ready to fly, ready to live into the fullness of our lives.
I feel joy, now, when I look at my garden and watch the unfolding of new life all around me. (I still walk carefully so I don’t squish a caterpillar.) It reminds me of my own cycle of transformation. You, too, are somewhere in this web of life. Who are you today? The passion flower? The caterpillar? The chrysalis? The butterfly?
You Will Become!
Know that, in time, you will become who you were meant to be all along!
Which stage of change and transformation are you currently experiencing? The passion flower, or caterpillar, or chrysalis, or butterfly stage? Or use another metaphor to describe your journey of change. Send me your thoughts, and I’ll share them in the next newsletter!
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Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still. ~ Chinese Proverb
Lyn