Several of my friends, who have pollinator-friendly plants near their homes, have posted photos throughout this summer of their attempts to provide a hospitable setting for a butterfly caterpillar to attach and spin its chrysalis. Then after days or a few weeks of waiting, they may be rewarded by seeing the butterfly gradually emerge and spread its wings.
Their photos have prompted me to think about the painful yet necessary process of shedding skin that is no longer suitable, and the daunting task of emerging into a new reality with all its beauty and danger. I suspect that I wouldn’t be very good at the work that is required of a butterfly.
In your plans for today, can you anticipate times and places when you will need to shed something old in order to make room for a new thing to grow? Or might there be times when you need to intentionally go into retreat, to emerge a quite different person?
Thank you for visiting this page. I welcome your comments and reactions to these posts. Please scroll down to the section labeled “Leave a Reply” and share a comment. If you wish to be notified of future posts, please click the menu button and choose to follow my blog.
Barbara Bruneau is a retired Lutheran pastor, living in southeastern Minnesota. Her home is shared with two cats who occasionally make appearances in this blog. She is a knitter, a weaver, and a very occasional blogger at An Explosion of Texture and Color.
An Explosion of Color and Texture 