BUTTERFLY

A caterpillar does not remain as a caterpillar. It is born into an unknown realm. A place so foreign that others believe it is only filled with despair. But, the caterpillar knows that this is only the beginning of its journey. It begins its life by filling the empty spaces with hope, seeking for answers in the limited time it has until it is finally time to change.

You are not obligated to remain the same person as you once were. So many of us struggle to find acceptance in this. So many of us continue to battle with ourselves, contemplating when we can finally release the bits and pieces of us that no longer serve the current version of ourselves. I feel that we are scared. Letting go means acceptance, and so many of us assume that surrendering to the painful battle is failure. What we fail to recognize is that acceptance is not failure, but the beginning to healing.

We compete with others because we want to be better, stronger, wiser. What we lack is the acknowledgment that the true competition is between our present and past self.

You are allowed to feel the way that you want to. You are allowed to take time with letting go, even if it is in bits and pieces. You are allowed to release the past version of yourself. Releasing does not mean you are erasing the previous version of yourself forever. Your past self remains intact in the memories that others and yourself hold as long as it can be cherished. Rather, you have taken apart the pieces of yourself to mold it into someone that knows better. Someone that has faced the unimaginable. So when the time comes, this person will know how to prepare for the unimaginable once again.

You have transformed. You are a butterfly. And even a butterfly cannot see the beauty in its own wings, until it flies.