Becoming a Butterfly

In deciding upon the name for my blog, I kept coming back to one word, “Metamorphosis”. This word spoke to me because it signifies both the need for a safe space to allow change, and the ability we have to transform. The beauty and deeper meaning behind a caterpillar growing its wings and becoming a butterfly causes me to compare the similarities between the colorful, delicate beings and myself. Because, you see, we are a lot like butterflies, you and I.

Sure, we are built and we are grown from our conflicts and struggles; the times in life that we can look back on and declare “I survived”. But, is it the actual conflict that allows our growth and becoming, or is it the moment of safety and stillness in between that allows our newly transformed self to arrive? It has occurred to me that without time, safety, and stillness to heal; our cuts will never turn to scars. Just as without time, safety, and stillness; caterpillars will never turn to butterflies.

I have retreated to my cocoon several times in life. If I am honest, I might admit that I require more stillness than most. Not to say that my relatively young life has been harder than any other, but it has been full of “cuts” and lessons. It is in those moments that I was given a choice. A choice to succumb to the challenges and let them change or define me negatively, or to cocoon myself away, listen, be still, and give myself time to learn, build self awareness, and grow my wings.

I want this blog post to be a safe haven. A “cocoon”, if you will, for people who, just like me, need the time and permission to listen, learn, and grow. I am still not a swallowtail, a morning cloak, or a monarch by any sense of the imagination. At least, not yet. But my hope is that we can go through our metamorphosis together and once we emerge, we will be as rare and beautiful as the blue morpho that flies among us. Thank you for joining me as I share my lessons, my ideas, and my journey. Thank you for joining me, as I grow my wings.