Taking Wing by Barbara St. James
I am in Leavenworth, WA this weekend. I am surrounded by old-growth forests, streams and mountains. There has been a beautiful wind blowing, clear bright blue skies and dark but bright starlight nights…and lots of butterflies. Butterflies are everywhere–of all colors and sizes. They fly very close or suddenly appear and disappear.
It reminds me that awakening is not a thing. It is not a goal, not a concept. It is not something to be attained. It is a metamorphosis. If the caterpillar were to dream about the butterfly it was to become, saying, “And then I shall have wings,” there might never be a butterfly. The caterpillar must accept its own disappearance in this transformation. When the marvelous butterfly takes wing, nothing of the caterpillar remains.
What deep appreciation in this. This is it!
Endearing love for ALL……
July 17, 2017 @ 10:52 am
Thanks, Barb. Leavenworth sounds like heaven!
A nature show I watched recently did an experiment where they trained caterpillars in a simple way, and then tested whether they remembered the lesson once they transformed into butterflies. They did! I would presume the caterpillar has no idea (on a conscious level) that it will become a butterfly. But perhaps the butterfly can remember her caterpillar-hood and rejoice in the transformation.
Love,
Kathleen
July 17, 2017 @ 4:34 pm
Beautiful!