Have you ever sat and watched how butterflies flutter from flower to flower and remember where they came from and how they began? How do those fuzzy little caterpillars transform into a completely different creature? There aren't many natural miracles quite like the butterfly. I learned recently that butterflies have a short lifespan. This made me sad at first because I use the this transformational image as a metaphor for my business. When I found out, I thought,
"Seriously? The average lifespan of a butterfly is only one month?! What? Are you kidding me? That's not fair! and I quickly stomped down the rabbit hole of my youth. I can hear my mom's voice echoing, "Life isn't fair, Abby."
and my fiery response,
"Well it should be! and maybe if more people actually cared and did something, things would change!" I decided at a young age that I was going to do everything I can to make it more fair. I spent years fighting against injustice and unfairness and wanting to change the world. I pushed for change. I used my anger to propel me forward. I had some results. I made some changes. But disappointment plagued me. I judged others because they "just didn't care enough" and weren't willing to "do anything" or "do enough!" It made me angry and resentful and burned out.
What if I had been a vessel for "allowing" instead of forcing and pushing? What if I had extended more grace to people. Would I have had better results through a more positive path? Can you feel the difference in the energy? Maybe more can be done in peace than with a fighting spirit, an "allowing" instead of a forceful pushing. Allowing the spirit to do it through me instead of relying on ego and needing to be in control of everything. For passionate people like me, this is no easy journey. But transformation is possible if we decide to allow the mess and the goo of the uncomfortable cocoon process to change us.
One month of life for a beautiful butterfly and then the cycle of life continues! We get to watch this beautiful cycle of life happen in front of our eyes, over and over, every spring! How many springs have to come and go, until we transform like the butterfly? Is it worth it even if just for a short time? It goes fast. In the grand scheme of things, our own lives seem to fly by and some precious lives are "unfairly" short. and yet, we see this and we still live as a caterpillar because we are to afraid of the cocoon. why do we do this? Why are we here? Why do we stay stuck and not "allow" ourselves to transform?
Because the transformation is scary and gooey and uncomfortable. And we like comfort. It's why so many live their whole lives as a caterpillar and die before becoming this incredible winged creature. We spend our years in negativity and get smushed before ever going through real change. We want to stay comfortable. Our brain wants us to stay safe. But I promise you it's never too late. It isn't easy, but its possible. Real transformation takes time. It requires seeing the ugly truth of your thoughts, looking in the mirror and taking responsibility for your life. Accepting that everything in your life is because of you and your choices. We have to stop blaming our parents, our government, our place of birth or socio-economic level, our lack of education... we have to deal with the pain of those bad things that happened, forgive those people, forgive ourselves and choose to move on. some of us have much deeper holes to climb out of. We can always offer love and a hand to help. But at some point people have to want to get out. And it's okay if you move onto a new place without them.
if you choose to become a butterfly, you have to fly! You can't stay on the ground crawling around with the caterpillars. You can love them and send them encouragement, but once you have wings, you have to fly! We can't control everything that happens to us, but we can control who we become and how we deal with the those things. It takes time, but with time and practice of more positive habits, it gets easier. And then, once we get our wings, the joy of the flight is worth everything!
I believe we were created to fly! I believe that joy can be practiced and life no matter how short can be full of beauty. I am on this journey and I hope to inspire you to join me. We all need to encourage each other. And these other butterflies I'm finding up here take my breath away. Come fly with me!