I was in a conversation recently where we were talking about the transformation process that a lot of us have had or are going through. And the story of the caterpillar pushing out of the cocoon came up. This story has some wonderful imagery. The feeling of being goo, dissolving to the point of being unrecognizable to even yourself. The strengthening that is required to be able to finally free yourself from the cocoon. And the beautiful butterfly that is the new you that emerges.
There was talk about the time we spend in the goo being different for all of us and no one else can decide our timing. There is a part of me that agrees with this and there is another part that questions this. Of course all of our growth and development happens in our own unique timing and I am still left wondering if like the butterfly, once you go into the cocoon if the timing is no longer up to you. The cocoon has a purpose of it’s own and if the caterpillar is to become a butterfly it’s time is limited. If it stays too long it dies. Maybe the same is true for us, maybe when we stay too long a part of us starts to die. What if our need or desire to control our own timing is just our own resistance to flow and nature itself?
The other thing that I think is problematic with this story is that the goo can become a place to hide, from the world and from stepping into the beautiful butterfly we were always meant to be.