Light and Transformation
2020 has been a very tumultuous time for most of the world. These last few weeks have left me wrought with anxiety and feelings of helplessness (which I especially hate because I am not the type to rollover and accept my fate). I start to notice my self-isolating behavior, sometimes before I mentally acknowledge whatever stress is causing the weight on my heart. I’m an extroverted introvert who very much values spending time alone; regrouping and recharging, but there’s a difference between being alone and being lonely.
During quarantine I’ve had the opportunity to shed energies (and those responsible for said energy) from my life and open myself up for more positive experiences with positive folx. Lately, it feels like the conversation has happened at least a dozen times when I hear people around me expressing the same gratitude I feel for the opportunity to find ourselves in a happier, more fulfilling environment.
The other day, a friend of mine caught me when I was feeling like my entire everything was crashing down around me. Actually, I described it as feeling like someone took all the important pieces of my life, put them in a coffee can, shook them up and threw them into the air. He’s a Witch-y little healer and grabbed my hands. He told me things were going to get better. He said he was sending me light and positivity.
A butterfly fluttered outside the window. She came into view, circled back around to another window where she flittered around for a moment–for me to see–before flying off to a nearby tree. I believe it was a sign.
BUTTERFLY MYTHS & LEGENDS
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Ozarks had dozens of butterfly myths and legends. If a little girl wanted a new dress, she should catch and chew up a butterfly the color of her desired dress.
The Christian religion sees the butterfly as a symbol of resurrection and/or that angels are watching over and protecting you.
Irish folklore claims white butterflies are the souls of deceased children and can pass easily between this world and the next.
The Russian word for butterfly is babochka, a diminutive of baba, (old) woman, and were thought to be witches in disguise in Russian folklore.
Some Native American tribes believed butterflies were messengers who carried your wishes and prayers to the Heavens. You had to catch the butterfly gently in your hands, whisper your wishes and set it free.
Or, maybe butterflies are just pretty. Regardless what you believe, a butterfly represents transformation. From egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly, they go through an entire metamorphosis to emerge as a symbol of freedom, light and beauty.
I opened myself up to the energy of someone else. Even though–at the time– I didn’t fully believe that “things were going to work themselves out,” I let myself focus on positivity. I allowed myself to receive energy from a friend and think that maybe, just maybe, he was right… and just like that, something shifted. Shifted inside of me and manifested in the physical world. Some things did get better.
It’s not about religious affiliations or whether or not you believe butterflies to be a positive or negative omen; there’s power in opening yourself up to transformation. There’s strength in hearing something different than that in which you believe and allowing yourself to open up to the possibility that you might not have everything completely figured out. Things might not work out in the terrible way you’ve imagined and you probably won’t be stuck in the same circumstances forever.
Allow yourself to accept positivity… especially when you can’t seem to muster up any of your own.
<3