In ancient Greek the word for butterfly is “Psyche”, which translated means “soul”.
Our world is experiencing three global trends that reflect the metamorphosis of the caterpillar into the butterfly and invite the emergence of a new world leader rooted in soul.
1. Change and Uncertainty
2. Globalization
3. Personal and Social Consciousness
Consider the caterpillar for a moment. It spends 90% of its time consuming, gorging itself, getting fatter and fatter and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. It covers very little ground keeping its view quite myopic and self-interested (even though they are very cute!). Then one day it begins its metamorphosis by entering the Chrysalis stage. During this dark stage the structures of the caterpillar collapse in the same way the social and economic structures of our earth are collapsing. This is the beginning of transformative change and uncertainty. If that is where we got our energy from (fossil fuels) where will we get it now? If this who I was, who am I now?
“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.” ~ Richard Bach, Illusion
Within the Chrysalis what was a caterpillar is now dark ooze. This dark soup is the liquid container where the caterpillar structure has dissolved and the butterfly has yet to emerge. This is the Dark Night of the Soul. And it is often within our darkest moments that we discover our light. Here what scientists call Imaginal Cells start to emerge. Each cell holds the potential, the vision, for the butterfly. They are the seeds of the butterfly ready to blossom. But because the old cells of the caterpillar are not dormant, they do not recognize and thus attack these cells, in the same way Jesus, Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. were all attacked for their ground-breaking transformative views.
Our world today has increasing amounts of light beacons, in the form of courageous leaders, speaking their truth and building consensus even though the majority is still not ready to hear. They come in the form of flower shop owners, delivery clerks, world politicians, pilots and more. They come in all shapes and sizes, as opposed to the old world where leaders were in a distinguished class of their own. These new world leaders build momentum by finding strength and inspiration in numbers in the same way that Imagine cells survive their attacks by forming clusters. They recognize other cells as like-minded, as knowing something the caterpillar cells don’t know – the larger vision of reality. They bond through commonality, while posing a threat to the old world order.
“And then the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” ~ Anais Nin
Gone are the days when we had one leader that we looked to. We must each find the leader within ourselves. In the old world, leadership came from the few and we gave our power away to them. In the new world, leadership comes from everyone because we claim our power within. No more delegating our power away to others. Delegating and projecting our power onto others has been an excuse to hide in ignorance or fear from our innate greatness. We can’t wait any longer. Now is the time, as Gandhi said, to “be the change you want to see in the world.” And when enough of us have found our inner power and built community through clusters, a natural tipping point will emerge where there is no going back. The awakening of our souls will transform humanity into a butterfly.
In the new world, the butterfly brings a global awareness versus an I, Me My consciousness. It sees from a higher perspective, travelling greater ground. It moves freely from one destination to another, with the desire of contributing through pollination and consuming by sipping nectar from flowers. It has a personal and social consciousness in the way it consumes and gives back. It is a conscious leader recognizing itself as part of something greater than its individual self and thus lives in accordance with that understanding. It is an equal member of our planet, no greater or less than any other creature of this planet. It is a soul recognized within and without, connected to and caring for the soul of our earth.
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