The butterfly held particular significance for my wonderful friend and colleague, Walter who tragically lost his first grand-daughter before her first birthday. At that time he was updating my website, Mindcircles, and as always his inspiration came in the form of a butterfly to which he added in his inimitable way some inspirational words.
After this, and more recently, the loss of my gorgeous talented son Bruce, the butterfly held even more significance. It reminded me that life is short, and of course even shorter for some. Take a moment to think about the journey of a butterfly. It starts life as an egg, hatches into a caterpillar, then it becomes a cocoon, emerging eventually as a beautiful butterfly. It lives only for a short while and this is a lesson for us all that life is but a fleeting journey and to make the most of it while here. For me, butterflies have such a magical presence and quality as they dance on the air and flit from flower to flower. They are graceful and magnificent and their journey through life is so reflective of our own ‘spiritual’ journey.
Some people ask me if there is a message for them if they see a butterfly and my answer is yes. Like a butterfly, you start as a simple being, you learn to function in this world, you crawl, walk and run through life in your day-to-day journey, but all the time you search for a deeper meaning. Eventually many, hopefully you too, get in touch with your inner self (quite like wrapping yourself in a cocoon). Different people do this in different ways such as meditating, reading, studying spiritual matters, praying. When you are ready you emerge to share yourself with the world. Remember although we live longer than the butterfly, life is fleeting and time passes quickly, too quickly. Sometimes you don’t even realise this and suddenly the years have slipped away.
Butterflies represent change, creativity, freedom and joy. The message that a butterfly sends, is to enjoy the present moment, make the most of your existence. When you see a butterfly, stop for a moment and take a look at what is going in your life.
Are you ready for change? Are you moving through change but still have some fears? Think of the butterfly and you have strength to move forward, face and embrace change. View it as an opportunity to grow and be creative. Don’t take life too seriously. So the next time you see a butterfly – take heed.
