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June 14, 2014

From Cocoon to Wings: The Story of the Butterfly. ~ Banu Sekendur

Butterfly

Do you know what happens to the caterpillar in the cocoon?

It’s a mystery. No one has ever seen it (or will ever be able to).

We have no idea what the caterpillar goes through after she weaves herself shut into a cocoon. She may be crying her eyes out or cussing at her parents for not raising her to be a ladybug.

She says, “Why couldn’t I be a ladybug? Why do I have to go into this friggin’ little box right now? I can’t see anything. How did I get myself into this? What the heck?”

Time passes.

Complaining gets old.

She accepts the cocoon. Acceptance feels lighter. She becomes accustomed to the darkness and the silence. She has no choice but to trust and let go.

She thinks she doesn’t know how to surrender and is surprised to learn that she does. She feels the layers that won’t support her transformation fall away, one by one.

She accepts that everything she is experiencing is a part of a sacred act of becoming.

For now, this is enough.

As the days and weeks unfold, the Universe works its magic.

The butterfly is formed. It’s time for her to emerge from the cocoon.

She doesn’t know how beautiful she is yet. She doesn’t even know she can fly. She will soon find out that the sky has no limit. She has a lot to discover.

All the butterfly knows is that she feels different. Completely different. She can’t wait to get out of her box and meet the world. So she does.

Suddenly, she feels the wind under her wings. Whoop, she is lifted up. It tickles her a little.

She doesn’t know what is happening. But she gives in.

It feels good. Strange. But good.

She finds that she can go from flower to flower and from tree to tree. No matter how high or how low.

She enjoys this new-found freedom. She can’t even remember the caterpillar that she once was. She forgets about the darkness in the cocoon. She forgets to blame her parents. She is ready to discover, share and enjoy who she is now.

She knows that the process of becoming isn’t easy. But she knows it was worth it.

All of it.

There are over 20,000 species of butterflies known to humans.

Like butterflies, we don’t have to be alike. We are all butterflies in a different stage of the cycle.

May you feel the wind beneath your wings.

 

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Apprentice Editor: Brandie Smith/Editor: Travis May

Photo: Tambako The Jaguar/Flickr Creative Commons

 

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