We always appreciate the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely do we understand or see the changes and challenges it has moved through to achieve that beauty.
It is so easy to close down to protect ourselves against change and growth; no butterfly ever emerges out of the cocoon without destroying it first. The butterfly, too, had to move through a lot of ugly, uncomfortable and unpleasantness within itself before its greatest change and growth happened. Its cocoon became its necessary isolation of self-improvement to move from the caterpillar and grow into the butterfly. It is through that journey it becomes more and more beautiful as it comes into itself and its new purpose.
We are now more than ever being called to sit in uncomfortable, raw and uncertain with ourselves; this is where we are the most vulnerable; this is where we have the least amount of control. However, this is where change can manifest itself within us because it is free from all the limitations we consciously and unconsciously impose on ourselves that hinder our growth process. Without such openness, life cannot penetrate us anew. We have to be open and willing to move into the uncomfortable space of being with ourselves at the most vulnerable and being honest in our pursuit to get to the root of our purpose and power.
One of the most challenging things to do is to look inwards and come face to face with ourselves. When we move into times and experiences, such as where we are now, it allows us to be with ourselves in isolation. This is a blessing.
We can be encouraged to choose these times as an opportunity to connect deeper within ourselves. We spend so much of our days consumed in what the world throws at us, sometimes mindlessly going through our day without checking in with ourselves or grounding ourselves to feel more connected and balanced. Most of us, including myself, finish our days with our tanks on empty, draining ourselves and taking away from replenishing the love and care we need to thrive within our mind, body and spirit. We are essentially slowing down the process of change and growth by allowing our external environment to control our well-being.
Our external environment poses challenges for us each day, and it is our internal environment that can feed us the truths we tell ourselves. These truths have allowed us to create walls and barriers in our lives that create some of the greatest challenges we have to overcome in order to grow and change. I face these with you daily, going to the root of my truths has made me realize what I hold onto in order to feel better in my day to day life, but I am recognizing they are not the things that are truly healing. Moving through and letting go of the old stuff can be painful. No one likes pain.
Often when I find myself in the most pain, I realize it's coming from a place of wanting to control everything or resisting the change that comes with the progress. It's a place we all try to navigate away from, but it is in moving into this space that we can grow into our healing. The work of change and growth is both wrapped in finding love and peace within ourselves that allows us to be more at home within our mind, body and soul.
Remember, you can only fly once you are willing to give up the comforts of your cocoon….
Rise up my friends xx