Do you like butterflies? It’s possible that you do. Almost everybody does. They are colorful, graceful insects that add beauty to the already beautiful nature. If you observe a butterfly elegantly flying around, from flower to flower, you might not be immediately aware of its “origin.” But you know where it came from.
It all started with a tiny, maybe a little ugly but cute caterpillar crawling on the ground. Not in your wildest dream could you have imagined that from such an almost insignificant (no disrespect intended here) little thing, a wonderful winged creature would emerge in due time. But in order to achieve its final stage, the caterpillar had to go through several stages. This is the way nature works. Reflecting on this truth has made me realize that our life follows exactly the same steps. Four steps. Let us see what they are, keeping the comparison.
The first step is the egg from which the caterpillar is born, and it can be compared to our young age when preparation takes place. We are not fully grown. We are still at the beginning of our development. We are getting ready to become what we will eventually be. We study, we make plans, we decide and get ready for what we intend to do as adults.
Next is our caterpillar stage, which is the length of most of our life.
We work. We raise families. We face challenges and solve them. We experience. This is the part of our existence where we are grown: We are adult human beings who carry out their duties as members of society. We believe we are what we are supposed to be. And that’s it. Many people don’t have the imagination to see beyond the present moment and continue to live their lives as if no change could be either possible or necessary. They might be compared to a caterpillar who decides to remain a caterpillar and crawl on the ground for good. But this never happens because the caterpillar instinctively “knows” that a new development is awaiting it.
The third stage is the chrysalis, where the caterpillar folds itself into its cocoon and lives a time of loneliness, of no action. It just stays there waiting for nature to follow its course and make the miracle happen.
It totally surrenders to what is happening inside its tiny body. As to us, at this point of our life we might feel the need to withdraw from it all. We long for some time alone, possibly doing nothing, just “being,” just “allowing” whatever comes up from the deepest part of our own self.
We elaborate on all the previous experiences, we endeavor to mold them into something new. It is time for reflection, for considering the meaning of our previous actions, their impact on others’ lives, the results they brought about.
Finally, the butterfly stage! Here the caterpillar emerges from its cocoon that does not serve it any longer. It has been transformed into a creature that embodies the beauty of creation and that can soar up in the sky, no longer crawling on the dirt.
Also we, in our final stage, can hopefully succeed in realizing who we really are, what the aim of our existence is, what we want to achieve that really matters. This is the time for discovery. This is the time when each human being receives the gift of “awareness,” i.e. the capability to leave old conditioning behind and see things and people as they really are, without judging, criticizing or condemning. It is the moment of truth, where we can live in peace with ourselves and with the whole world.
— Elsa Franco Al Ghaslan, a Saudi English instructor and published author (in Italy), is a long-time scholar of positive thinking.
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