I've been considering butterflies. I realized something that is obvious and at the same time, to me, profound.All butterflies start out as caterpillars. Every single one of them starts out as a slow moving eating machine. They stay in the area their parent left them, which is usually abundant in the plants they feed on. They have exterior defenses which make them toxic or scary to predators, because underneath all that they're softies. They go through four or five growth processes where they shed their skin, the last stage being the chrysalis.
The chrysalis stage is where the transformation happens. The caterpillar goes through a complete metamorphosis. During the chrysalis stage, there is little outward movement. Yet inside all sorts of changes are going on. Until, the chrysalis breaks open and the butterfly spreads it's wings.
The newly emerged butterfly does not immediately take flight. It sits and pumps it's wings, strengthening it's new form. Then, it flaps it's wings and takes off into the air. What was once a land bound leaf eater is now a delicate, airborne creature who lives off nectar.
The part that I find profound is that when a butterfly mates with another butterfly, it makes a caterpillar. In terms of transformation, there is no short cut. The process of caterpillar to butterfly holds so many reflections of our own transformation.
I see a world of butterflies and becoming butterflies...
copyright Yvonne Falk 2010 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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