Are You Like A Butterfly Trying To Be A Cocoon? Returning To Being Hidden And Invisible?
Stop Strapping That Cocoon Back Over Your Wings!
I’ve been thinking lately about how many of us are trying to live small, take up less space, be less visible, shrink back. I’m not talking about weight. At least not generally not about our physical weight. I’m talking about how often we try very hard NOT to stand out, show up, or be our full selves.
We often even show this in our physical demeanor. I was watching a video by Bo Eason today And he really brought to mind what had been on my thought agenda over the last year. How often we even physically try to make ourselves smaller. Maybe so we don’t have to deal with the questions: who are you, why are you, what are you believing and doing?
Being Invisible
If you can’t see me, maybe I’ll avoid controversy. Maybe I won’t have to own my uniqueness, my perfect just as I am-ness, my I have a right to exist and take up space-ness. I have a right to be fabulous even if you don’t like it-ness!
It made me think of caterpillar cocoons. There was this really cool being who had to crawl around on it’s belly, but then it builds this UGLY covering for itself. And I do mean ugly! It looks like a dirt clod that went bad! Like death crawled up and wrapped it’s fuzzy self around a branch. “Nothing to see here, move along, just death and ugliness. The coolness has been lost.”
Then you know how the process goes! Eventually, through time and a great deal of work, acrobatics and persistence, a butterfly emerges. We revel in the miracle and the beauty of the transformation into the dazzling beauty of the candy crystalized colored designs of the wings.
What if that butterfly came out of the cocoon, stretched and strengthened its’ wings, went for a flight or maybe just a walk around? What if then, it went back over to the cocoon, pulled it’s wings back in, folded them against itself and tried to climb back in the cocoon. What if it started walking around with that cocoon on it’s back all the time, never using or showing those wings again? Wouldn’t that be a shame? Ridiculous? Sad? Wouldn’t you think that was a great loss and unnatural?
Doesn’t it seem like we do that sometimes? As soon as we think about showing who we are or opening up, standing strong and spreading our beautiful wings, we pull back. We ask “who do you think you are to stand out?” We try to pull that ugly, dirty cocoon back over our wings and live our life like that!
Hiding Who We Are
We are not only denying who we are, we are stealing from the world the joy that comes from witnessing the miracle of life lived. Maybe the better question to ask ourselves is: who do we think we are to hide our beautiful real selves? And if we’re not spreading those wings and use them as they were designed for, when will we? Next week? Next year? When the kids are grown, I have a different job, I’ve finished school, I’m married?
You know what happens then. Nothing! And pretty soon those wings no longer unfurl. At least not easily. And you never learned to fly. Let’s take today to stand up, pull our shoulders back, be visible, believe we exist and we have a right to! No better, No Less! Show those wings! For all of their given glory! Who am I to hide the joy I could share with you by being who I really am, doing what I’m suppose to do, sharing it with others that I’m supposed to.
I think my wings are starting to stretch and strengthen. And they are… crazy wild beautiful!
Put down the cocoon, back away! And no one will get hurt! Show me your wings!