Hi Everyone,
Recently our posts have not only been difficult to write but read as well. Despite our daily challenges I still believe its progress.
I found a quote, ‘Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, she became a butterfly’. Coincidentally the TBI “mascot” is a butterfly. The metaphor of the caterpillar turning into a butterfly represents a time for transformation – new beginnings and paradigm shifts.
We all can relate; here’s this happy little caterpillar just going about life, its only concern was eating the current leaf or two before her. One day, without warning, she gets wrapped up tight in this dark isolated cocoon. She’s shut away from the outside world, trapped in this dark inescapable place going through painful changes. She’s frightened, alone and disconnected from the world. No one can recognize her within her shell. She misses the sunshine, she misses life. It must feel like her time in that cocoon is an eternity. And just when she finally thought she had lost hope of ever getting out, she slowly begins to realize that the pain is lessening. She realizes she’s changed, transformed into something she never was before. Still scared she gnaws her way out of that cocoon. When she finally steps into the light, she realizes she’s become a beautiful butterfly. She’s no longer bound to crawling her way through life. The pain she felt actually gave her knowledge, life experience and energy to transform her self into some one new. She opens her wings to soar.
Haven’t we all experienced certain times in our life when it seems as if we are thrown off course and forced to come to a halt by unexpected obstacles? These challenges can last a few months, a few years and sometimes a couple of decades.
Gradually day after day, lesson upon lesson, multiple frustrations and shedding many tears, we keep working toward something that doesn’t always seem plausible and few can understand. We all have days that reflect the pain of transition but we must also remember; all growth requires some pain. Patience and understanding is called for in the story of the butterfly’s metamorphic transition. While many of us understand how paradigms change few of us possess the patience.
The butterfly story gives us faith in change, renewal, strength and rebirth. It teaches us that all things happen in their own time when our lives are ready to receive what life has in store for us, xoxo