It’s been 7 months since I last wrote in my blog. Seven months in which time has both crawled and flown.
It’s been a time of learning to live without my mother, and watching my father and my sisters struggle to do the same . It’s been a time of pride and joy, witnessing my son graduate with his Masters degree and accept a scholarship to continue with his PhD. And it’s been a time of debilitating pain and enforced rest – the result of some unexpected physical challenges that came up.
Throughout all this, I’ve made several attempts to write. I had messages and thoughts that I wanted to express; yet each time I tried to step out with them, a door would shut and I would retreat once more into my shell of silence.
I learnt to be patient, to understand that perhaps this was a time for me to simply flow with the experiences and allow myself to learn whatever lessons came with them. So I focused on living day by day – as daughter, wife, mother and teacher … for these are what I came into this world to be, and the universe has so much to teach through every one of these aspects of me.
Recently, the door opened, and the writer’s block dissolved. I can now step out again, to share some of the nuggets of gold that I have picked up over the months. And I feel the spirit of the Butterfly with me. At this stage of my personal evolution, this animal totem comes through powerfully as guide and teacher.
The spiritual community talks incessantly about transformation, shifts and change, and we see the butterfly as a symbol of metamorphosis, representing spiritual growth. But how much of this symbolism do we truly understand?
Allow me, with the help of Butterfly, to bring three points to your attention, that you may better understand the Butterfly effect.
* From the outside, while it looks like nothing much is happening within the chrysalis, lots of changes are actually taking place. Old body parts, tissues, limbs and even organs have all changed by the time the pupa is done metamorphosing.
*The butterfly does not emerge from the chrysalis until it is ready. And it does not attempt to fly until it has rested enough.
*The fully developed adult emerges without fanfare. And although it’s not large and its life span isn’t long, the butterfly has an impact on all that it comes across, and spends the rest of its life completing its life mission – which is to mate and lay eggs.
So how does this information link with our own spiritual transformation?
* Inner change can and does occur even when it seems like we aren’t doing much. As the universal laws teach, there is a cycle of ebb and flow – a time to sow and a time to reap, a time to rest and a time to act. What is important is that we continue to assimilate the lessons that the universe brings to us, to work on letting go of what no longer serves us and be open to new and better things waiting to come in. There’s no need to tell the world how much we’re being tested and challenged, or to make a big production of all that we’re going through.
*Trust in divine timing. Don’t try to rush things. When the time is right for us to try or do something, we’ll know – we do have the angels prompting us, after all. But don’t ignore the signs when the universe gives us the go-ahead, either. Remember, If the butterfly does not spread its wings when it is ready, it would not complete the next stage of its life cycle.
*There is no need to draw attention to the “new and improved me”. We earn our stripes when we overcome the obstacles and pass the tests that we set for ourselves. And like the beautiful markings on the butterfly, these will show in the colour and brightness of our aura. And they come forth through us without effort – manifesting through our state of inner peace, our willingness and ability to forgive trespasses, our acceptance of others – warts and all, and the ability to shake off judgement, our genuine respect and compassion for all life, the integrity with which we walk our talk.
And like the butterfly, for the duration of our life, we should be focused on seeking to complete our soul mission.
This, then, is the spiritual Butterfly effect.