Metamorphosis

Thanks to my mom, my family and I got to live a fairy tale moment today. A few weeks ago she brought home three-dozen caterpillars and since that time we have patiently watched a magical journey, known as metamorphosis, unfold. This afternoon that magical journey culminated in a beautiful moment as thirty-six or so recently hatched butterflies swarmed around us before flying off into the unknown. This awesome moment reminded me that everyday magic still exists and I felt blessed my kids were able to experience this unique event (sorry TOAB but I took video and photos for you).

It also reminded me of a story I heard a few years back.

One day a man was looking outside his window and saw a caterpillar turning into a chrysalis (called a cocoon when referring to moths). Day after day the man would look at the chrysalis for evidence of change. Finally, he saw a butterfly starting to emerge. He watched it closely and noticed it was struggling to break free. His heart went out to this poor struggling creature so he decided to help. He grabbed a pair of scissors, went outside, and cut the tip of the chrysalis off. He felt good about his charitable act and went back inside. The next day he went outside to see if the butterfly had flown away. Instead he found it lying on the ground dead. You see, the struggle butterflies go through while emerging from their chrysalis causes blood to flow into and strengthen their wings so they can fly. Avoiding this struggle left the butterfly unable to fly and thus live.

The lesson in all of this is that everyday magic still exists, but it is generally preceded by a struggle. Avoid the struggle and you might not gain the strength to venture into the unknown. Why would you want to venture into the unknown? Because it's where you discover your life’s purpose.

Here is a video illustrating a type of everyday magic known as metamorphosis.