Lessons from a Caterpillar

Trust the process and you'll get there.

Raising monarch butterflies is a passion of mine. I've had an outdoor butterfly house for the past four years.

Right now, I have 11 chrysalises and a couple of baby caterpillars.

A chrysalis is a light green cocoon. Inside, a caterpillar performs its most dramatic metamorphosis.

Before the chrysalis, the caterpillar experiences about five mini-makeovers. The caterpillar will expand to 3,000x in size after hatching from its egg. As it grows, the caterpillar's skin becomes tight, causing it to molt or shed its old skin.

Around 18 days after it has emerged from the egg, the caterpillar stops eating and molting. It hangs itself upside-down and creates its new temporary home.

The chrysalis is green, the same color as the milkweed leaves the caterpillar once feasted on. The adage, "You are what you eat," is valid for caterpillars and humans.

Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar releases digestive juices and liquifies into goo. Specialized cells create a new body out of the former caterpillar.

I wonder if the caterpillar knows what it’s in for before making its chrysalis. As it hangs in a J-shape, does it say, "Bye-bye old me! I grew a lot while I was a caterpillar. It's time to grow into something spectacular."

As it becomes soupy, is it conscious? I hope our friend, the caterpillar, does not feel pain as it dissolves.

Pain is never a reason for nature to avoid doing its thing. Nature is relentless in fulfilling its destiny.

Speaking of pain, I've read that a writer should feel embarrassed to read what they wrote a year ago. With steady practice, the writer improves their skill and becomes better at their craft.

To that end, I cringe when reading posts from last year. My writing has improved, and so have I.

I'm not the same person as last year.

I've grown and shed some skin. (I’ve added wrinkles, but let’s save that for another post.)

I'm more thoughtful and aware.

I've learned new things.

I am still writing, although it’s scary sometimes.

I trust the process.

I detach from the outcome because I can't guess what it is. Not knowing is ok.

What about you?

How are you growing? Are you willing to embrace the goo? I’d love to hear about your metamorphosis in the comments.

If you’re a monarch-nerd, like me, enjoy this super-cool video of a caterpillar creating its chrysalis.

Caterpillar Chrysalis Video

---

TAKE MY YOGA SURVEY

Please click on this short 3-question survey if you are interested in taking online yoga classes with me. I want to create classes that serve your needs.