We Are Billions of Butterflies!

I came across this quote about butterflies (I don’t know who to attribute it to) and it made me think of our social distancing during Covid 19.  As a therapist, I believe that what many of us are experiencing right now is the energy of grief.  In addition to grieving the pain and suffering for those we love who are sick or have died, our efforts to stay safe and keep others well have required us to give up our routines, our sense of freedom and for many, our sense of security about the future and this is another form of grief.  Much like the caterpillar is required to disintegrate into a murky soup before it can develop wings and emerge from the cocoon, many parts of our lives have disintegrated and we aren’t sure what they will become.

I’ve often wonder if some parts of our lives need to die off in order for us to live more in alignment with nature, life and the wellbeing of our planet,  and that makes me think of the butterfly effect. Scientists discovered this phenomenon while attempting to predict weather patterns  around the world and realizing they had left out the migratory pattern of butterflies from their equations, and this disrupted their ability to make accurate predictions.

The butterfly effect is a powerful reminder that small things do matter. If the gentle movement of butterfies' wings can effect weather across our planet, can you imagine if a billion of us actually allowed some of our old ways of living to die off, so that new paradigms that value love, kindness and compassion could emerge from the darkness and burst into the light?  I love imagining that!

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