Become a butterfly

When I am in the midst of significant change. I practice a lot. I find that it keeps me aware of my moment so that I catch when the fear is climbing in, and push myself in its way.

Fear is consuming, and when it is at the forefront, it keeps us silent and in our place. When I am aware, and I notice the fear begin to fill first my feet and then my knees, I choose to remind myself of what becoming a butterfly really means. As a child I had the notion that the cocoon was peaceful, the gestation was like nap time, the wings just grew, and voila butterfly. But that is not the truth. There is nothing peaceful about becoming a butterfly. Caterpillars are not hibernating in the cocoon, when they become a butterfly, they are disintegrating. Frigging disintegrating!

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Perhaps all the dragons of our life are princesses, who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave.
~Rilke

 

 

The Caterpillar let go, willingly became goo and transformed into a butterfly.   When I am aware, I tap into this metaphor  and look at what my fear is paralyzing me with. Funnily enough, most of the times my fear is not real. My fear is about something that only serves to trap me. By facing it I can decide if I need to align with it or let it go. More often that not, I breathe deep and give myself over to the change. After all, it worked out for the caterpillar, which was once inching and can now fly.