Transformation Is the Dance Of Life
How can you tell if you still might be in a caterpillar stage of growth? Some questions to think about –
Do I hide my value or discount the gifts that I have for this world?
Am I tightly guarded, afraid?
Do I feel like I am stuck in the mud, unable to move?
Can I see my potential, but don’t know how to unlock it?
Do I feel vulnerable, tossed about with no control?
If so, how long will you allow yourself to remain in this caterpillar stage?
We cannot become what we need to be, by remaining what we are. – Max de Pree
Unlike the real caterpillar, we have different phases of transformation. It isn’t a one time thing, go into the chrysalis and come out a butterfly for us. We have a mind, body, and soul, which is continually growing and expanding. Which means that we have different levels of transformation and growth, both inner and outer.
The journey between what you once were, and who you are now becoming, is where the dance of life really takes place. – B. Angelis
Each time we feel stuck, we need to enter the chrysalis and undergo another change. Each time we realize that we have greater potential than we are using, we need to enter the chrysalis and undergo another change. When we are able to initiate change and navigate it, it brings an added bonus. It helps us to manage the change that comes from the outside, over which we have no control. If you have learned how to navigate your boat through choppy waters, you have some skills to navigate the storm that appears out of nowhere. But if you have only sailed in smooth waters, then you will have no idea what to do in the storm and will likely capsize your boat.
Everything in your life is there as a vehicle for your transformation. Use it! – Ram Dass
Taking the caterpillar to butterfly analogy one step further, the caterpillar exists by eating up the foliage of the plants it crawls across. It feeds the caterpillar, but does nothing positive for the plants themselves. Once the caterpillar transforms into the butterfly it now flies from plant to plant and helps to pollinate the plants to bring about new life. It helps in the creation of new life, a truly positive purpose.
It’s never easy letting go. But if we don’t learn the art of relinquishment, we’ll never move forward to embrace the new relationships God has for us. – Mary E. Demuth
In this same way, when we get stuck, hide our value, and become tightly guarded, we are not producing anything positive in the world, but rather we are just using up the resources around us. We are not giving back. We are not contributing. We need to relinquish what we are holding on to or we can’t move forward.
Strength doesn’t come from what you do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t. – Rikki Rogers
But when we change, transform and grow, we are then in a space our being open, and sharing our values with the world around us. We pay it forward, because we delight in the joy of giving. We focus on how we can contribute to make the world a better place. We unfurl our wings to move freely in the expanded space of our transformation. We become a new creation, with a worthy cause fulfilling our divine purpose.
We delight in the beauty of the butterfly but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. – Maya Angelou
This chrysalis is the place to enter when we need a breakthrough. Where we exercise the patience to grow and transform. Persistence is needed to follow the breakdown through to the breakthrough. We can’t emerge out of the chrysalis if we don’t follow the transformation process through to the end. Surrendering to what is, leads us to the end of the life transformation. Spreading our wings to take flight produces the happiness of “I did it!”.
Behind every beautiful thing, there’s some kind of pain. – Bob Dylan
So like the caterpillar, I know that each time I enter the chrysalis I will come out a new creation. That there is always some old part of my life, that is outgrown and no longer serving me or the world around me, that needs to end. And in that ending I will, once again have the strength to emerge, and will be transformed in some way to further the unfolding of divine destiny.
