“Without change…there would be no butterflies” ~ Author Unknown
Many years ago, I stumbled upon this quote and began using it as my life mantra. I also became enamored with butterflies and decided that this beautifully amazing creature would become a symbol to remind me that life’s changes were to be seen and experienced with both wonder and awe.
Change has always been quite easy for me. As a child, I experienced changes when I moved from Austin to Houston, then Florida and back to Houston. Visiting Bogota, Colombia with my siblings in the summers was also a big change from living in Texas and I would say the biggest change for me occurred at the age of 5 when my parents separated.
All of these changes set the stage for what I consider to be my life-long wanderlust.
See for me, change is everything. It’s one of the few things I know I can count on and when it does happen, I am faced with transformation both externally and internally (with resistance at times) and then, I turn a new leaf.
Change is what makes us experience new things so that we are stretched outside of our comfort zone. Through change we learn more about ourselves, we discover things unknown, we grow, and we evolve.
Without change, life would get stagnant and we would be stunted.
How could we know what our highest potential is, if we never tried something new?
If things always remained the same, how would we ever find out about all of the wonderful things that life has to offer- both scenically and relationally?
Through changes in our lives, we see new places, we hold new jobs, we learn new skills, we meet new people, and we love new people.
The next time you find yourself being resistant to change either because life has sprung it on you or because your gut is telling you that it’s time, think of the butterfly. Imagine the life cycle of the butterfly and all that it has to go through to turn into something delicate, magnificent, and free.