Let's Talk about Butterflies...
Today we’re going to talk about butterflies. Beautiful, majestic, intriguing, light, airy, almost fairy-tale like.
Except they don’t start out that way.
I’m going to take you on a little ride. It’s called metamorphosis. It’s a Greek word that means transformation or change in shape. The four stages of metamorphosis of butterflies are: egg, larva, pupa and adult. There are huge differences between larval and adult forms, and it requires so much energy, that it is simply not possible to go through a complete morphological and anatomical change in one sitting. You’re probably wondering where I’m going with this, but just hang tight with me, I promise you’ll see at the end.
Lets begin.
The Egg Stage: Eggs are laid on plants by the female butterfly, can be laid in any season (except winter), and can be very small.
The Larva Stage: Sometimes this is also called the feeding stage. The job of the caterpillar here is to eat, and eat, and eat. As the caterpillar grows it can shed its skin up to 5 times. The food eaten at this time is stored and used later as an adult.
Pupa: The Transition Stage: When the caterpillar is is full grown and stop eating, it becomes a pupa. They hang upside down on trees or branches and they engulf themselves in a substance that looks like a cocoon. This stage can last from a few weeks, a month or even longer. Some species have a pupal stage that lasts for up to 2 years. Now ,it may look like nothing is happening but big changes are happening inside.
The Adult Stage: This is the stage that most people think of when they see a butterfly. Except when they are ready to hatch it doesn’t look pretty at all. The cocoon breaks open and lots of gooey fluid spills out. In fact, it may look like the emerging butterfly is dying. The struggle out of the cocoon is the most important part of the process here. The fluid has to drain out or else the wings won’t be dry enough for it to fly.
So now that you’ve probably learned more than you’ve wanted to know about butterflies, what does this have to do with anything?! The metamorphosis of a butterfly is a lot like the metamorphosis some of us are going through. Some of us may be in our egg stage, where we feel small, inexperienced, inferior. Maybe you’re in the larva stage, where you’ve had to shed some toxic ideas, friendships, relationships, You’re tired of change. But just like the caterpillar, the ideas and lessons you learn here are stored and used later as an adult (adult here just means after the transformation is complete). Or better yet, you’re in the pupa stage, and it feels like you’ve been stuck here forever. Nothing is happening. You take 3 steps forward and 10 steps back. You’re tired. Except just like the butterfly, there are many things happening behind the scenes that you can’t see. People are watching your journey and cheering you on. You’ve finally reached the adult stage, you’ve decided to launch that business, start that podcast. clothing line, blog, consulting business, write that book. You’ve decided to jump. It’s time to break out of the cocoon. But wait, you’re drowning, things aren’t going as you planned! People aren’t supporting you like they said they would. Your podcast hasn’t gotten any listens, your book hasn’t sold, nobody as stepped foot in your new boutique. I thought I had arrived! I’m going to do a copy + paste from a paragraph above: The struggle out of the cocoon is the most important part of the process here. In a butterfly, the struggle is what makes the wings beautiful. Just like in you.
I told you you’d get it at the end. Butterflies are extremely beautiful creatures, but they start out looking less than desirable. They shed skin. They sit in a cocoon, sometimes for up to two years, and they struggle to get out. But in the end it’s all worth it.
So they next time you feel less than desirable, feel like nothing is happening, are struggling, just remember the butterfly. You, just like it, will emerge more beautiful (or handsome, for the fellas), powerful, radiant, and majestic than ever.
Love always,
CDOG