Some people tell me they find the journey into a deeper knowing of themselves too difficult, perhaps too frightening, or just plain not worth it. To those who feel this way, I say, I get it. It is a tough walk. And one not done by the majority of people. But it is worth every step of the journey. Every. Single. Step.

Consider the journey of a butterfly. First, these beautiful creatures start as a tiny egg, just as we do. Then, they develop into a caterpillar, crawling around eating practically everything in sight. Kind of like us. We search, chase, and consume just about everything we can, many of us getting lost in never ending circles of seeking. What are we looking for? Most of us don’t even know. It seems to be part of our human journey.

But then the caterpillar goes into a chrysalis, the caterpillar’s version of a cave. The caterpillar has no choice in this matter. It’s just something they must do to survive. And in the cave they are transformed.

One way or another, life offers each one of us an invitation into our own version of a cave. Or multiple invitations into several caves.

And we each have a choice about whether to enter. Some of us just glance into the emptiness of the cave and turn around, going back into the vicious circle. Some of us enter for just a bit and leave without transformation. Some of us get stuck in the cave, refusing the invitation for healing, convincing ourselves the darkness of the cave itself is the only truth. Some of us stay in the cave and leave transformed, knowing there may be yet another invitation into another cave. And that it’s all our choice. 

But for a caterpillar, they don’t have the option of choosing not to enter. Entry into the cave begins their physical transformation into a butterfly. Even with that however, their journey is not finished. They still must find their way out of the cave. Oddly, for them, and also for all of us, the way out is not the same path as the way in. And so, butterflies work their way out, slowly, while letting their wings unfold. Only when they are fully out of their chrysalis and fully unfolded, do they fly out, into their lives. But even then, their journey is not over. They fly out into the world among all the other creations of this world. The flowers and all the dangers around them— the birds, the insects, the trees, the cars, and all of us humans observing their majesty.

But butterflies do it, despite the risk. Because flight is their soul path. It’s what butterflies do. They share their beauty with the world, despite the risk, not because they have any kind of special mission, but simply because they can’t do anything else but just be.

That’s the same for us humans. We are to just be. But instead of flight being our soul path, love is our human soul path. We are to do what we need to do to stop the chasing, the consumption, the seeking for something ‘other,’ and come home to ourselves, so we can truly love. And just be. It’s when we ‘just be’ that we can share the love of who we are, transforming ourselves and our world. Being love as our soul path.

And so, come to your life path with the courage and the grit of the butterfly.