Butterflies and Other Magic
Don't you just love butterflies? I mean, basically they flutter along, happy-seeming, sucking nectar out of flowers, moodling in the summer breeze ... their pretty wings causing tiny unseen ripples in the atmosphere, invisible, yet felt around the world - or so the Butterfly Effect theory goes.
I have to admit, I find butterflies fascinating. Mainly, the fascination lies in the basic nature of the creature. A butterfly 'becomes' by completely transforming itself from its original state as a caterpillar. Mind boggling. In order to become a butterfly, the insect has to be completely willing to give up being a caterpillar. For reals. No takebacks.
This metamorphosis is one of nature's tiny wonders. As Buckminster Fuller said "There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly." Except this: a caterpillar is born with the potential for butterflyness. The imaginal cells of its future self are already built into its DNA. Amazeballs.
I blogged about this biological magic back in 2013. Here is what I said:
"The way the caterpillar becomes a butterfly is a cycle of dissolving, resistance, dissolving, resistance, and more dissolving. In fact, the resistance of the caterpillar to its own dissolution is what creates more and more imaginal cells that, just like magic, overtake the metamorphosis process and create the butterfly. Interestingly, the butterfly, when it emerges, already knows how to be a butterfly, even though it has never been one before."
Whaaaat!??
It already knows how to be a butterfly. Just like you. You already know how to be your bigger dream. The imaginal seed has been planted in your cells.
In this beautiful time lapse video, Neil Bromhall captures the pupa state of metamorphosis.
Metamorphoses
The part I love best is the one Bromhall notes, "... a signal that the butterfly is about to emerge is when the pupa case clears to reveal the butterfly within". Just like us, when we experience that moment of clarity and we can see the butterfly within.
So this: having glimpsed it, what are you willing to give up in order to realize your butterfly dream?
In other butterfly news:
Everyday Happiness: Baby Steps and the Butterfly Effect
I have to admit, I find butterflies fascinating. Mainly, the fascination lies in the basic nature of the creature. A butterfly 'becomes' by completely transforming itself from its original state as a caterpillar. Mind boggling. In order to become a butterfly, the insect has to be completely willing to give up being a caterpillar. For reals. No takebacks.
This metamorphosis is one of nature's tiny wonders. As Buckminster Fuller said "There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly." Except this: a caterpillar is born with the potential for butterflyness. The imaginal cells of its future self are already built into its DNA. Amazeballs.
I blogged about this biological magic back in 2013. Here is what I said:
"The way the caterpillar becomes a butterfly is a cycle of dissolving, resistance, dissolving, resistance, and more dissolving. In fact, the resistance of the caterpillar to its own dissolution is what creates more and more imaginal cells that, just like magic, overtake the metamorphosis process and create the butterfly. Interestingly, the butterfly, when it emerges, already knows how to be a butterfly, even though it has never been one before."
Whaaaat!??
It already knows how to be a butterfly. Just like you. You already know how to be your bigger dream. The imaginal seed has been planted in your cells.
In this beautiful time lapse video, Neil Bromhall captures the pupa state of metamorphosis.
Metamorphoses
The part I love best is the one Bromhall notes, "... a signal that the butterfly is about to emerge is when the pupa case clears to reveal the butterfly within". Just like us, when we experience that moment of clarity and we can see the butterfly within.
So this: having glimpsed it, what are you willing to give up in order to realize your butterfly dream?
In other butterfly news:
Everyday Happiness: Baby Steps and the Butterfly Effect
