What’s in a name? Butterflies don’t look like flying butter; so why do we call them butterflies? By way of a Google search I learned that different cultures had different stories; for instance, in France they are called “papillon” like parking tickets that are also yellow and flap like a butterfly when placed under a car’s windshield wiper. The Dutch use a word which describes the color of urine as a butterfly is a yellow drop that flies. The ancient Greeks associated butterflies with the soul and called them “Psyche”. The English influence comes from the word “butterfloege” named for a common yellow brimstone butterfly. It seems by naming things a story may emerge.

What’s in a story? There are thousands of stories told as to how individuals have been touched by the butterfly. From children’s stories like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, to inspirational stories including Hello From Heaven!, we learn of challenges which promoted change or messages of peace and comfort. Spring is often a metaphor for a time of transformation and new beginnings. When I think of writing a story or sharing a story, I think of all the possibilities – the different ways I could begin and end the story or the different perspectives I could tell the story; for instance, first person, second person or third person or from a different cultural lens. The story development is like the imaginal cells of a caterpillar communicating until climax births a butterfly.

Are you ready to transform or is there a story you tell yourself that holds you back? Renewal helps us to edit the story by way of finding a new perspective, a new way of looking at things. As we reflect, a transformation occurs from the inside out allowing one to fully become. Being a therapist is in some ways being the observer of the metamorphosis process watching the butterfly struggle to break free of its cocoon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VtzM41Ayzs

As metamorphosis is brilliant to watch in nature, joining with another to assist in their renewal fills me with joy and appreciation. Join me in using this time to release, reflect and restore.

Photo by Evie Shaffer on Unsplash