A butterfly does not just magically appear one day, well it does, but not without going through some major changes first. A butterfly begins its life, post egg stage as a larva or caterpillar. In the stage of caterpillar, its primary job is to consume as much food as it possibly can. It could be said that the caterpillar’s purpose is to feed on life that nourishes and sustains it. When the caterpillar reaches a certain stage in its growth it will attach itself to a protective tree branch, away from the direct pecking line of birds and other prey. Once securely anchored, the caterpillar begins to weave a beautiful blanket around itself until it is completely covered. This blanket is known as a chrysalis or cocoon. As the caterpillar forms the chrysalis around itself, the caterpillar begins to dissolve. The form that was “caterpillar” liquifies and the old and outmoded version of itself completely breaks down. As the caterpillar ceases to exist there are two things left inside the chrysalis: “imaginal discs” and liquid protein.
The “imaginal discs” are essentially the blueprint of the butterfly. In other words, held within the form of the caterpillar were the fundamental building blocks of the future butterfly. Think about the genius of that for a moment. Inside a caterpillar is the essence of the butterfly. These imaginal discs hold the potential, the optimum version of itself as a butterfly when it is a fat squishy caterpillar. The imaginal discs then feed off the liquid that was originally the caterpillar in order to split and grow and form into the components that are the butterfly.
Metamorphosis is the process by which the caterpillar liquifies and reforms into something else entirely. The process of transformation takes time, it takes effort, it takes a safe space, and nourishment. And after all that, it still needs to use an enormous amount of energy to birth itself anew.
Could the same be true of cultural paradigm shifts, and transformations within a collective of any size whether they are countries, cities, communities, or families? Could the original system hold the “imaginal discs” so to speak of a potential new and incredibly different form? Let’s go with the possibility that the same may be true for other systems, because to be honest, we don’t know that they don’t. If a system holds within itself the blueprint for a dynamic new form, it will first have to begin to dissolve the existing structures. The very notion of a system allowing itself to dissolve so that something new can be created is terrifying. Humans often have little tolerance for personal change let alone when the country or community in which they count on for their survival begins to transition. But throughout history societies, that have like the caterpillar reached their maximum potential, dissolve. However, unlike the caterpillar, human beings will hold tight to the systems in which they live long after they have fulfilled their purpose. What if there is a better more beautiful way humans have structured their worlds, would you be courageous enough to begin the process of changing to that?
How can societies begin to transform? What would the “imaginal discs” of a new world, or new country structure look like? Perhaps it is easier to begin by looking at the individuals within the structure, since a country, community, or family is made up of individuals.
Changing ourselves can be difficult and I wonder if that is because we cannot see or do not know of the “imaginal discs” that lay dormant within our beings. What if we were to harness the power of the metamorphosis process and simply, naturally allow the process of transformation to take place? The caterpillar does not say “I have to change,” the drive for change comes from the powerful forces within its being, it simply yields to the greater energy building inside.
However, the caterpillar doesn’t dissolve on the sidewalk and expect the imaginal discs to split and grow where it is vulnerable. Just like a caterpillar in the chrysalis state, we also need somewhere safe to hunker down away from possible attack. Opening ourselves up for deep and permanent change makes us extremely vulnerable. We need a container (home, safe spaces and/ or safe people) to hold us while we liquify our old forms. A personal metamorphosis requires us to go within and transmute all that no longer serves the greatest version of ourselves. If we look at the liquification process from our human perspective, then we are invited to use our tears to dissolve our previous forms. Long held wounding gets stored and stuck in the fabric of our marrow, in the stringy sinew of our muscular systems, including the heart. Tears are one way to soften and release the old.
We need to take our time and allow ourselves whatever nourishment we need in order for the transformation to occur. For the caterpillar this is four to ten days, for the human, it is unknown. The more we resist however, the longer it will take. Try and burst forth before your new form is fully formed and you may end up unable to come back in either form (neither caterpillar nor butterfly so to speak). But when we have done enough work, cried enough tears, let ourselves be made a new, then we have to push against what holds us tight so that we can, like the butterfly, have the strength to break free from the cocoon. What the butterfly is doing when it pushes against the cocoon is building strength in its newly developed wings, so it has the capacity to fly. Change can be hard. Sometimes we will have to push against the very thing that restricts us from expanding.
Remember, once transformation has taken place, the butterfly never returns to its previous form, and neither will you.