I was watching a nature show one evening and they showed the metamorphosis of a monarch caterpillar. Now, I've been around and loved butterflies my entire life and I've seen this metamorphosis time and time again. I've even kept caterpillars so my sons could see how they change into butterflies. So I was quite surprised when after all of this time I learned a new lesson. Monarch caterpillars don't go far. They are very happy to live out their time on the milkweed plant. It stays there, eats and grows until it goes into its chrysalis. Now, after it becomes a monarch, the game changes. The monarch now has wings. It no longer hangs out on the milkweed plant. In fact, it doesn't even return to the milkweed plant except to lay its eggs on. The monarch uses those wings to explore the world. It flies all over, tasting the nectar of the bounty of colorful flowers around it. Eventually, the monarch travels thousands of miles to Michoacan, Mexico to a pre-destined place to converge with other monarchs from all over the country to breed and wait out the cold Winter weather. Why am I talking about caterpillars and monarch butterflies? Well, that caterpillar has no vision. It just stays in one place happily chewing on milkweed leaves. If it wasn't pre-destined to become a butterfly, it might be very content to just stay as it is. A lot of us are like that. Comfortable in our safe places and not even realizing that we are destined for something greater. When that something inside of us starts to awaken. We feel something that says to us, there's something else out there for me. I want to see more, I want to do more, I want to BE more. That feeling inside allows the metamorphosis to begin. We start to venture out. Use our wings more. We are no longer satisfied with the same surroundings. We have a desire to "spread our wings." This journey is not always easy. Just like the hardships the Monarchs face on their migration to Mexico, we face difficulties as well. I'm sure there are times the Monarch might think. "Hey, you know what? It's kinda warm here. I might be able to make it. There are plenty of flowers around and not a lot of things trying to eat me, I'll just hang out here for the Winter. No need to travel all of those miles." But the Monarch can't do that. Its journey would be incomplete. It has to face those challenges and get to its winter home or it could face certain death from the cold. Now, if we stay where we are physically, we won't face necessarily face death and we don't have a particular meeting place that is waiting for us like the butterfly does. But, you get the idea right? Each of us does have something deep within us that we want to see come to fruition. We might not even understand what it is at first. It's that nagging thing deep inside that won't leave us only. That thought we wake up with in the morning that drives us. That dream, that goal. Something we want to accomplish before our time in our earthly vessels is over. At least, I believe we all have that. Personally, for me, it would be easy to say that getting speaking roles in television and movies is what I want to accomplish. But it's so much more than that. I want to connect with people on a spiritual level. If I can do through acting, that would be amazing. Basically, I just want to live fully. I want to leave my milkweed plant, stretch my wings, fly and live as I was destined to live. You see, butterflies don't care. They do them. They don't feel self-conscious and wonder IF they should try to make it. They just do it. At the time of my transition, I want to have no regrets. I want to have just gone out there, put it all out on the proverbial table, lived my dreams, shared my gifts, and made a positive difference in the lives of others. I want to have loved deeply and not to have been afraid to be my authentic self, no matter what people might have thought of me. I'm not sure why seeing that video about the butterfly yesterday affected me the way that it did. But, I'm glad it did. It reminded me that we are all born with gifts. But if we never venture out, we may never discover what they are. Some of us never learn to fly. We let fear keep us from the unknown. Grounded and stagnant in a cocoon of perceived safety and comfort. I know this from experience. Well, that's my "Parable of the Monarch." I know it was a long read and some people won't even bother to read it to the end. But I believe that whoever this is for, it will reach them. Or maybe, it was just for me.
As always, Peace and Love,
Be Blessed.
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are made for." ~ John A. Shedd.
