Rest Before Flight: The Butterfly-Human Parallel

Lately, based on my own life as well as the readings that I’ve been doing for others I’ve come to a new understanding. For a while, I was going through a period of healing, letting go of things from the past, and releasing old versions of myself. Now, I feel as though I’ve moved past that cycle and I feel reborn. I have a lot more free time than I did in the past, for the most part I’m thinking a lot more positively, and my business is slowly starting to grow. From the outside looking in, it seems like I should have been really happy with that. 

The problem was that I still was not quite where I wanted to be and I was convinced that I had to work really hard to get there. I found myself unable to enjoy these new blessings that I had already worked hard for. Instead, I'd rack my brain looking for extra tasks that needed to be done or feeling like it was wrong for me to do things that I found pleasure in like taking naps, journaling, or hanging out with my friends. Surely, I could be spending my time “more wisely” right? After all, there’s no way that I could deserve rest and relaxation; I’m still not a millionaire. 

 Recently, I learned that when butterflies first hatch from their chrysalis, they have to spend time pumping fluids into their wings and allowing the wings to harden before they can take flight. When I paralleled this scientific fact to myself, it deeply helped me to understand this current phase that I’m in and I realized that the Universe was guiding me to rejuvenate myself before I step into the next phase of my life. Of course I dream of being in that phase where my business is thriving, I’m booked and busy, my bank accounts are overflowing, I’m traveling the world with the love of my life, and I no longer have any material worries. However, I had to stop myself and think; imagine going from a dark and challenging time in my life where everyday felt like a struggle, to instantly running a huge company, being in a long term committed relationship, and always having meetings to attend and flights to catch. 

It sounds like a dream, but in reality after a long period of death, rebirth, and transformation what I actually need is rest, fun, and peace. I needed time to experience fun and adjust to calmness and contentment before taking on a whole new world of responsibilities and sudden changes. I also realized that while I’m manifesting a life of ease, it’s crucial for me to let go of the anxious energy that presents itself when I am resting or having fun because it contradicts what I’m asking for. 

Sometimes we say that we want to live a life of ease, where our income is not dependent on us working long hours or doing things that we don’t enjoy. Yet, when peace and ease begin to show up in our lives through having more free time or less tasks to handle, we tend to feel guilty for enjoying it instead of working or doing something that we deem to be more productive. Through this energy, we are telling the universe that we actually don’t want a life of ease because it makes us uncomfortable and anxious. Instead, we would prefer to work hard and be burnt out, because that’s within our comfort zone. Therefore, I decided to shift my perspective on rest and I’m learning to ignore those thoughts that tell me I’m lazy or irresponsible for taking time to nurture myself.

Instead of feeling anxious about what my next step is supposed to be or feeling guilty for resting, I’ve been practicing allowing myself to just be. Like that butterfly, I trust that when the time is right I’ll instinctively know when I'm ready to leap into my new life and begin to take more inspired action. While my future life is going to be abundant and make me feel like everything I’ve been through up until this point was worth it, it will come with new responsibilities and changes. I don’t want to waste this calm time by feeling bad for relaxing or forcing myself to be productive. I will have plenty of time in the future to be productive and put responsibilities first.

 In this season, I am consciously deciding to focus my attention on gratitude for the present moment and celebrate all of the past versions of myself that have gotten me to this point. Oftentimes, with the fast paced nature of our society, we will feel this need to always be looking for the next thing that we can do or accomplish. Rarely do we take enough time to truly appreciate all of the efforts that we put into something and reflect on all that we have learned from our previous battles. For me, and maybe you too, it’s time to accept that the dog days are over now. I am a newly emerged butterfly and I will gladly bask in this new chapter as I allow myself to slowly get used to what it feels like to be at peace, trusting that when I am ready, the world will be there waiting for me to spread my wings and take flight. There is no need to rush.