Change: From Caterpillar to Butterfly

Change takes time. Transformation takes time. I think we want change to look, feel, and be easy. And, in many ways change is easy. At the same time it isn’t. It’s a tension that’s both exhilarating and dreaded. 

When I look at change through the lens of a caterpillar-butterfly, I see the different stages of life and growth clearly, whereas in my own life I’m caught up in the day-to-day and don’t always see the seasons. 

I wonder if the caterpillar knows it will one day become a butterfly. I wonder if it knows it has to disintegrate and become essentially nothing but cell soup for a season. I wonder how aware it is of the fight it may have to put up in order to break out of the chrysalis, that place that protected its deconstruction and reconstruction. While I doubt it is consciously aware of those transitions, it leaves a beautiful example for us to draw from and make parallels of the growth in our own lives.

Recognizing the season I’m in frees and helps me to live more peacefully in each season. It allows me to live fully present with the season, instead of struggling against it. Your transformation is just as unique as the caterpillar-butterfly. Identifying your current season as it parallels the caterpillar-butterfly is like a breath of fresh air to remind you you are on a journey and you aren’t alone. Read on to see which season most aligns with your own growth stage: Caterpillar, Chrysalis - The Goo, Breaking Out, or Flight.

The caterpillar stage is about getting fat on information. Learning and learning, growing and gathering the information that will sustain us in the next season. Sometimes the growth that’s happening just feels like packing on pounds we don’t want. All the learning can feel overwhelming and hard. When we’re in the middle of that stage, it’s worth reminding ourselves that this work will one day yield the svelte versions of ourselves that we long for.

One of the keys in this season is to paint a picture for yourself, casting your vision to the horizon, without stopping the work of learning, growing, and gathering. You have to keep growing in order to get to the next level of transformation.

When we're in the chrysalis stage, it might not look like anything's happening. But there's change! There's a massive transformation. The caterpillar is going from one creature to another and the medium is goo.

Turning into goo sounds a little bit like going in the wrong direction. We worked so hard to get here and now what? All that learning and growth turned us into goo?! It doesn’t feel like anything’s happening, and it can be discouraging.

Be gentle with yourself and remember that even when you are a blob of goo, you are in the middle of a beautiful transformation. The chrysalis is protecting you in this season and it won’t last forever.

If you're in the chrysalis-goo stage, pick one small thing to focus on. Something that’s positive, that brings you encouragement, something that shifts your perspective, even if it’s ever so slight, and lean into that transformation. For the time being, set aside worries about all the other things. Let yourself absorb as much wisdom and strength as you can from that focus. Even this jello-like state is a growth state.

There’s a lot of pushing involved in breaking out of the chrysalis stage. Suddenly, the place that felt frustrating when we first turned to goo has become home. The problem we now face is that the boundary that once served us well is holding us back.

Breaking out of the chrysalis can be very uncomfortable and unpleasant. It requires a concerted and intentional effort to enter something completely new and different. As we push against what became our status quo, we re-adjust ourselves to being comfortable with those things that are uncomfortable.

We’ve never been a butterfly before! We might feel self conscious. How do we look? What will others think? Will they judge how different we are? Maybe they will; we did just go through a metamorphosis…

As you do the hard work of pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, give yourself a moment to breathe. Let yourself look at the hard work you’ve done. Admire those new muscles and that new you. Applaud your own efforts; take a few minutes to accept and appreciate this new you.

You’re not done and you’re not stopping. You completed a big transition and you're embracing it.

You're out of the chrysalis! You're basking in the sun, gently batting your wings—letting them dry. You're adjusting to a whole new body, a whole new functionality, and that's scary. It's scary to think about, and at the same time it’s thrilling. Let yourself bask in the sun. Let yourself take the time to stretch the wings and let them dry out completely as you adjust to your new muscles.

Now that you’ve let those new wings dry out and you’ve been gently flexing them, you’re ready.

Ready to take flight!

You've done it! You’ve flown. It's the first of many flights to come. You’ve accomplished so many things and you can enjoy the view and the beauty of gliding on the wind currents. Others will likely be in awe of who you are in this season.

You can move at speeds and in directions never even thought of when in the previous seasons.

Take some time to think about what you’d like to enjoy in this season. What will you do with this new found freedom? What would you like to savor and enjoy in this season?

Once you’ve given yourself full permission and freedom to enjoy the beauty of flight, what thoughts do you have towards the next phase of your growth cycle? Maybe it will be like the butterfly cycle again, but you’ve already levelled up once, and you certainly will again!

You are the one who has done the work to equip and provide for this journey at each stage. When you were a caterpillar you could only inch along, growing slowly. When you were the goo you could only accept the discomfort of disintegration, rest, and leaning into your growth transformation. When you first came out of the chrysalis you could only fan your wings. And as a butterfly, you covered large distances in a single day! You migrate thousands of miles! No matter what stage you are in now, celebrate how far you’ve come!

Much grace to you in whatever season you find yourself. ~ Rachael