Transformation
“We
delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has
gone through to achieve that beauty.”
Maya
Angelou
Did you
know that during the chrysalis stage of a butterfly’s metamorphosis, the
caterpillar’s body is liquified? In mythology, this is the part of the story
where the hero goes into the underworld to ask for a favor. The underworld is a
dark , scary place; also a site of transformation. For instance, in the story
of the goddess Inanna. During her descent into the underworld, she is murdered,
hung on a hook, and becomes a side of green meat. It is only when the God of wisdom,
Enki, hears of her plight, and creates some small creatures from the dirt
beneath his fingernails, and sends them into the underworld unnoticed that she
is brought back to life and freed. The “little mourners” bribe Inanna’s killer by
delivering food, and the water of life and by showing empathy for him.
I
believe we all have our green-meat moments—a diagnosis, a divorce, a loss of
job or home, death of a loved one. They visit every life, and we are temporarily
rendered useless and sometimes, non-functional. And as with Inanna, it is the little
things that bring us back to life—compassion, empathy, love—the food and water
of life.
When we
step out of our own unique purgatory, the world opens before us. The sun shines
and, like the butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, we spread our wings and
fly. We wouldn’t have those wings without the descent into the underworld, without
the rotting meat, liquification process. Like steel transformed by fire, we are
forged into a new being—one with wings, one who knows what is required, one who
knows herself/himself well. One who follows the dreams of her/his heart, and
not the dictates of a fearful mind.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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