“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” ―
Maya Angelou
This week we took a look at the patient's perspective of illness. Each of us were given the opportunity to select a story from a given list of books and plays. I chose Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg. I chose the butterfly for my creative practice this week because it is considered a symbol of transformation in many cultures because of its impressive process of metamorphosis. The butterfly undergoes a tremendous change between the stages of egg, to larvae (caterpillar), to pupa (chrysalis) and finally becoming a butterfly. The ancient Greek word for "butterfly" is ψυχή (psȳchē), which primarily means "soul" or "mind".
Consider your whole life changing to such an extreme you are unrecognizable at the end of the transformation. I imagine this as how it must feel to someone who is sick, perhaps dying. Suddenly being faced with a transformation of your former self must be an incredibly discombobulating experience, surreal, almost out of body experience. Watching your hair fall out, loosing weight, being unable to do the things you used to do, feeling sick all the time, has to be so depressing and disconcerting. I hope I never have to feel that. I have many friends that have been through it, two very close ones are each in the battle for their lives as I write this. One looks like she will survive breast cancer. The other is on a liver transplant list. I can see how their illness has changed them both and how it has changed my relationship with them. I love them more and pray for them and try to see them more often, although it still isn't enough. Life and work gets in our way, but we try.
The unwavering acceptance of the butterfly's metamorphosis is also symbolic of faith. The butterfly beckons us to keep our faith as we undergo transitions in our lives. She understands that our toiling, fretting and anger are useless against the turning tides of nature - she asks us to recognize the same.
Other symbolic butterfly meanings include:
Time
Soul
Grace
Growth
Elegance
Expansion
Lightness
Surrender
Transition
Expression
Celebration
Resurrection
Vulnerability
Many cultures, including Christianity, associate the butterfly with the soul. The butterfly is depicted on ancient Christian tombs, and Christ has been illustrated holding a butterfly in many Christian artworks. It's connection with the soul is rather fitting. We are all on a long journey of the soul. On this journey we encounter endless turns, shifts, and conditions that cause us to morph into ever-finer beings. At our soul-journey's end we are inevitably changed - not at all the same as when we started on the path.
In some old cultures, butterflies also symbolize rebirth after being inside a cocoon for a period of time. Regardless of its symbolism, the butterfly is an incredible creature, so much so that it is always a delight to see flying by. It always makes me wonder where it came from and where it is in such a hurry to go.
This week we took a look at the patient's perspective of illness. Each of us were given the opportunity to select a story from a given list of books and plays. I chose Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg. I chose the butterfly for my creative practice this week because it is considered a symbol of transformation in many cultures because of its impressive process of metamorphosis. The butterfly undergoes a tremendous change between the stages of egg, to larvae (caterpillar), to pupa (chrysalis) and finally becoming a butterfly. The ancient Greek word for "butterfly" is ψυχή (psȳchē), which primarily means "soul" or "mind".
Consider your whole life changing to such an extreme you are unrecognizable at the end of the transformation. I imagine this as how it must feel to someone who is sick, perhaps dying. Suddenly being faced with a transformation of your former self must be an incredibly discombobulating experience, surreal, almost out of body experience. Watching your hair fall out, loosing weight, being unable to do the things you used to do, feeling sick all the time, has to be so depressing and disconcerting. I hope I never have to feel that. I have many friends that have been through it, two very close ones are each in the battle for their lives as I write this. One looks like she will survive breast cancer. The other is on a liver transplant list. I can see how their illness has changed them both and how it has changed my relationship with them. I love them more and pray for them and try to see them more often, although it still isn't enough. Life and work gets in our way, but we try.
The unwavering acceptance of the butterfly's metamorphosis is also symbolic of faith. The butterfly beckons us to keep our faith as we undergo transitions in our lives. She understands that our toiling, fretting and anger are useless against the turning tides of nature - she asks us to recognize the same.
Other symbolic butterfly meanings include:
Time
Soul
Grace
Growth
Elegance
Expansion
Lightness
Surrender
Transition
Expression
Celebration
Resurrection
Vulnerability
Many cultures, including Christianity, associate the butterfly with the soul. The butterfly is depicted on ancient Christian tombs, and Christ has been illustrated holding a butterfly in many Christian artworks. It's connection with the soul is rather fitting. We are all on a long journey of the soul. On this journey we encounter endless turns, shifts, and conditions that cause us to morph into ever-finer beings. At our soul-journey's end we are inevitably changed - not at all the same as when we started on the path.
In some old cultures, butterflies also symbolize rebirth after being inside a cocoon for a period of time. Regardless of its symbolism, the butterfly is an incredible creature, so much so that it is always a delight to see flying by. It always makes me wonder where it came from and where it is in such a hurry to go.
Butterfly. (2015, February 15). In Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Butterfly&oldid=647286559
Linda,
ReplyDeleteA lover of butterflies, I identify deeply with this work. And I must tell you that the artistic expression is my favorite of all you've shown thus far. Very warm; very beautiful. Thank you.