Well, Easter has just passed and although it is not a significant time for many people who do not follow Christianity, it is still a great time for reflection. (Not the R word I want to highlight this time!)
The 'R' word for today is resurrection. The web is a wonderful thing! I went to search for meanings of the word and found an interesting array of ideas, which took me in a different direction of thinking!
On 'answers' at Yahoo - a young woman has typed in that a butterfly is symbolic of the soul and the resurrection of Christ. (I had never heard this before!) Apparently, the meaning is derived from the three stages of life of the butterfly - the caterpillar, the chrysalis and the butterfly. They symbolize life, death and resurrection.
I am not sure if this is true but it felt true for me! And so I thought I would run with it. Another comment on Yahoo answers from Adonai, indicated that it was a transformation - "a resurrected person does not just come back to life but is transformed. That's what makes the butterfly symbol an apt one -- a caterpillar looks nothing like a butterfly. But after a period of "entombment" in a chrysalis, it emerges into a glorious new life."
What a lovely way to look at the 'dark', tomb-like times in our lives. To see them as incubations. A time of re-formation. Re-structuring. Think about it - a caterpillar makes a chrysalis and then it must dematerialize, completely break down, and out of the same substance a totally new creature is created and emerges.
Maybe we can choose to look at the difficult times in our lives as our chrysalis times. Sometimes we re-form a little, sometimes a lot, but we emerge transformed. Hopefully a wiser one; perhaps with more understanding of life (the big picture!), and the importance of connection to something larger than us. Something that actually creates the forces of transformation.
Did you know that the emerging butterfly must struggle to get out of its 'tomb'? Do you recall the story of a man who watched a butterfly struggle and struggle to break through it's cocoon and finally, to help it, he cut the top of the cocoon. Just a fraction to make the hole bigger so the butterfly could have an easier journey. The butterfly was soon out but deformed badly. Its body was huge and wings small and floppy. It died shortly afterwards. I don't know where the story originated but it's meaning is profound.
Apparently, the struggle is critical for pushing fluid out of the body of the butterfly into it's wings giving them strength and shape. Taking away that struggle did not help at all. Sometimes we need to go through that struggle. We don't know that it's necessary for our new beauty to be formed.
If you are struggling with something at this time, can you take a 'resurrection' view? Can you look down on what is happening to you and feel there is some benefit that will come of it? Even if you can't see or sense it right now, have faith that you are incubating. And re-forming; re- structuring; in the process of transformation.
It makes the struggle or incubation much more exciting!
So it seems to me we have 4 periods really.
- Life as we know it.
- Then 'death', or a time of 'darkness' - or maybe even just a time of withdrawing and contemplation followed by;
- a necessary struggle with the emergence of our transformed state. Then the glorious creature begins a new life.
- And then it happens all over again!
Exciting!
How many different butterflies will you be in your lifetime?
P.S. Most of you reading this know of how my Mum who died 3 years ago comes to me as butterflies now. At her wake, 2 stories up, the most gorgeous turquoise butterfly few by and I just 'knew', I really 'knew' it was Mum! Only afterwards did I find out she loved butterflies. It is uncanny how a butterfly appears whenever I am outside - literally!
So you understand why I loved the link between resurrection and butterflies! It's a great way to re-frame what happens to you in life. It adds mystery, curiosity and maybe a sense of wonder to the chrysalis times in our lives - and joy as we contemplate what sort of beautiful creature will emerge from our 'meltdown'!
Zoot-Zoot!
Amanda
