ButterflyCaterpillar With Wings
Last night, I fell asleep thinking about butterflies. OK, there may have been a moth or two in the mix, but I have never been able to tell the difference anyway. I think moths are probably a little more powdery when you grab them off the screen window and attempt a compassionate catch and release.
It must be a strange gig being a butterfly. Just imagine. One day you're this slug of a bug in the garden and suddenly you get very sleepy. You fall asleep in something that, quite honestly, is far too similar to a silky grey shroud or coffin, and I guess you realise that your caterpillar days are done. So it goes. You sleep and sleep and sleep.
When you wake up, you are still a slug of a bug, but now you have wings. Something inside you says, "Fly, baby, fly!" and so you do.
How cool is that?
Instead of being a slug of a bug creeping through the grass and maybe up the stem of a dogwood tree, now you're above it all and delightfully dilly-dancing amongst the flowers. Instead of living on the 80 proof chlorophyll of the neighbourhood leaf life, now you get to flirt with the prettiest flowers in the garden and suck yourself full of nectar.
Better still, people like and admire you. They say things like, "Look at the pretty butterfly." Some people even take photos of you.
The only knock I have against butterflies is that they tend to be a little elusive. They like to dart in and out of the shadows, one moment a bright orange and yellow in the sunlight, then with a whisp, they're suddenly gone, disappearing into the shade of the junipers.
There must be a lesson in all this, but for the life of me, I can't quite articulate it.
Last night, I fell asleep thinking about butterflies. OK, there may have been a moth or two in the mix, but I have never been able to tell the difference anyway. I think moths are probably a little more powdery when you grab them off the screen window and attempt a compassionate catch and release.
It must be a strange gig being a butterfly. Just imagine. One day you're this slug of a bug in the garden and suddenly you get very sleepy. You fall asleep in something that, quite honestly, is far too similar to a silky grey shroud or coffin, and I guess you realise that your caterpillar days are done. So it goes. You sleep and sleep and sleep.
When you wake up, you are still a slug of a bug, but now you have wings. Something inside you says, "Fly, baby, fly!" and so you do.
How cool is that?
Instead of being a slug of a bug creeping through the grass and maybe up the stem of a dogwood tree, now you're above it all and delightfully dilly-dancing amongst the flowers. Instead of living on the 80 proof chlorophyll of the neighbourhood leaf life, now you get to flirt with the prettiest flowers in the garden and suck yourself full of nectar.
Better still, people like and admire you. They say things like, "Look at the pretty butterfly." Some people even take photos of you.
The only knock I have against butterflies is that they tend to be a little elusive. They like to dart in and out of the shadows, one moment a bright orange and yellow in the sunlight, then with a whisp, they're suddenly gone, disappearing into the shade of the junipers.
There must be a lesson in all this, but for the life of me, I can't quite articulate it.
Personally I am the moth who got too close to the flame and now I am a pile of powdery ashes.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day Mr. Kennedy James and embrace the winter. It is what it is
Brrr ... I think the winter is embracing me today ... everything is frosty ...
DeleteIf not for the frost, would we appreciate the warmth?
DeleteJust imagine, KJ, if we humans were to reach a certain age -- say 60 -- when we would have a deep sleep befall us, only to emerge a more youthful, better-looking, prime breeding specimen, more so than at any other time in our lives.
ReplyDelete~Manfred
And maybe that is what the metamorphosis of the butterfly cycle teaches us ...
DeleteInteresting. Watch out for the birds...
ReplyDeleteYes, those damn birds ... I hadn't thought about that ...
Delete... butterflies signify freedom and new beginnings ... so perhaps we need to learn to be free ... being free offers a certain elusiveness .... as it kind of means we are not tied to any one thing? Unpredictable perhaps even .... I like butterflies ....
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe that's why freedom is so feared ... it is unpredictable ...
DeleteOh my goodness, the Mariah Carey music video is stunning. While butterflies might signify freedom, their life span is very short.
ReplyDeleteYou mean they do a couple of turns around the backyard and then die???
DeleteSo it goes ... RIP ...
80 proof chlorophyll.... ha...I'll pay that!
ReplyDeletestill a slug of a bug but with wings.. I'm sure the butterflies would take umbrige at that. what about all the weight they've lost..liposuction couldnt have done a better job..and nice long slender legs instead of stumpy lil ones..and have you seen a butterfly tongue? caterpillars dont even have one..i dont think...
I think you've articulated that lesson quite well though.. :)