By Terez Hartmann
The Hero’s Journey
The story is as old as time immemorial: A quest/challenge is issued, a hero accepts and goes forth, and somehow, some way, he or she manages to beat the odds and emerge victorious! Why do we enjoy these epic movies and stories so much? In addition to seeking entertainment and distraction, I believe that these classic tales remind us that no matter how “dire,” “final,” or “impossible” things may appear in the moment, there is always a way that they can and do work out. And when you stop to think about your own life, would you still be here if this were not the case?!
I know from personal experience that when I have found my way into deep, dark spaces during times when everything was changing around me, often any kind of encouraging words uttered with the purest of intentions sounded like nothing more than, “Blah, blah, blah…” And honestly, there rarely is anything that anyone can say or do to help you bust out of the funk-fest until YOU are ready to do so. How do you summon your inner hero to let positive transformation happen and get back to feeling good sooner rather than later? While there are many paths of least resistance and different things work better at different times, consider a few pearls of wisdom from one of nature’s heroes, who has mastered the art of survival and transformation over a span of 40 to 50 million years: The butterfly!
Thriving in Every Stage
Butterflies experience four distinct stages of life that each call for different intentions at different times, and I have noticed that every time I have been ready to upgrade my career, relationships, projects, self, or even my moments in time, thinking and acting in harmony with (rather than pushing against) the energy of the moment has been extremely helpful. Just like a caterpillar would not climb to the top of the highest tree, say, “Hey y’all watch this!” and then try to fly before its transformation, there really IS a season for everything.
What if, like the butterfly, you decide that wherever you stand right now IS valuable, that there are positives to be found in EVERY step of your journey, and that the more you relax into the knowing that change is the nature of life, the sooner you can get back to feeling good? Try these stages on for size and see what rings true for you. Regardless of where you are, it really is ALL good!
The Egg Stage
A new seed and tiny spark of pure potential has been planted and will soon see the light of day! As the new being within prepares for hatching, its “shell” nurtures and protects it. The egg is connected to the underside of a leaf with incredibly powerful natural “glue,” applied by its parents, creating a strong and stable environment to facilitate its birth. This being is entering into a “clean slate” and though it has only started to dream of what it could become, this tiny being has one clear mission and focus—simply to be born and to emerge when the time is right.
Ideas for thriving in this stage: This is an opportunity to create and experience something fresh and new, so keep your vibe light and be open and willing to allow feel-good ideas to hatch when the time is right! Create and inhabit welcoming spaces for work, relationships, and your day-today life. Give your home/living-space some love. PLAY!! Have fun! Follow your muse and remember that the first manifestation is always emotion! If you’re feeling groovy on a consistent basis, something amazing is about to pop! Congratulations!
The Caterpillar Stage
The egg has hatched and look out world, here it is! This being has legs, is not afraid to use them, and is propelled forward by a powerful desire to explore the earth and chow down! The caterpillar happily sorts through the buffet of life to discover its personal favorites, and if you’ve ever seen a caterpillar, you know that they too are extraordinary, colorful, and beautiful in their own right!
Ideas for thriving in this stage: It’s good to be a caterpillar! This is a time of great activity and energy, so roll with it! Get out and live life to the fullest, listen to the call of inspired action and adventure! Sip, sample, and savor the great buffet of life, making a note of what you REALLY enjoy and what really feels good to you! Rather than force or “motivate” yourself into action, let love lead the way. Feelings of clarity and high energy will let you know you’re on to something awesome, so if it feels groovy, do it! If you chew on something that is less than fabulous, no big deal! Now you know that certain things are not your bag, baby, so you just choose something else next time. It’s not worth letting a temporary bad taste bust your groove, as you’ve got people to see and things to do! Yeeehaw!
The Chrysalis Stage
The caterpillar has just received an inner memo: “Cease and desist at once and take a nice, long nap.” It stops eating, bodily functions slow, and its focus is now to create an environment that in many ways mirrors the egg from whence it came. Enough resources have been gathered, decisions have been made, and now it is time to rest, be still, and allow transformation and personal evolution to happen. Though this may seem like a time of dormancy, this is actually a very powerful time when major shifts are happening behind the scenes. Often this is the least “sexy” part of the butterfly lifecycle because of how things appear on the surface, but it is in THIS stage that the REAL magic happens!
Ideas for thriving in this stage: Listen to your body and pay attention to what your life is telling you. You’ve been asking and asking, so now it’s time to stop talking and to listen, to stop trying to “make” things happen and to get out of the way to LET things happen. Get more rest, tune in to your inner voice and turn off the “noise.” Be good and kind to yourself. Surround yourself with soothing people, colors, environments, and experiences. If keeping some aspect of your life alive feels like a barefoot, uphill, in the snow battle: cease and desist! You’ve asked for an upgrade, so let the old situation, experience, belief/way of being go. Start thinking like a butterfly and ask yourself, “What could be even better?” While it’s been fun being a caterpillar, there’s more coming that is going to rock your world and take you into amazing new places that you haven’t touched before! Chill, take heart, and know that all truly IS well, and bonuses, upgrades, and happy surprises are absolutely imminent! Put your feet up! You’ve done enough and you done good, kiddo.
The Butterfly Stage
After just the right amount of time when the tiny being inside the chrysalis is ready, a new memo has been sent that says, “Open your eyes and stretch your…Wings?!” What?! Wow!
The little crash pad the caterpillar built is now WAY too small and can no longer contain this amazing new being, so it’s time to bust out of this thing and find a new home! But before it takes off, it allows its wings to dry fully, so they are strong, fully formed and ready! Wing 1? Check! Wing 2? Check! Off it goes, and now it has discovered a new kingdom—the air! Again it is compelled to go forth and explore and, although it can fly, it still gets its sustenance from the earth—but what and how it sustains and nourishes itself has changed dramatically! Instead of feasting on leaves, it sips the nectar of colorful flowers through its new built-in straw or proboscis. Its new mission: to fly, to drink from the color and sweetness of life, and to go forth to co-create and begin a new cycle of planting new seeds of life that will soon become eggs!
Ideas for thriving in this stage: Just like the caterpillar that hatched from the egg in your earlier life, you can hardly wait to go forth and greet the world in full color! You are now in a whole new world that YOU have created and allowed, so focus on the sweetness of life, follow inspired action, milk the beauty as much as you can, and keep feeding the momentum of the new version of you. At the same time, if you need a minute to stabilize and feel solid in your new self/life before fully emerging and showing your new self/reality to the world at large, that’s okay too. The transformation has happened, the wings are there, and the moment you are ready—the sky is now your playground! Focus onward, upward, and forward and get ready for yet more new ideas and discoveries to be born through you! Hello gorgeous!
The Bottom Line on Allowing Transformation with Butterfly Wisdom
What if no matter what things looked like, you really ARE a hero, everything IS always working out for you, and the “odds” are always FOR rather than against you? What if whatever is happening right now is THE perfect thing at THE perfect time that IS serving a purpose? What if it really is up to YOU to decide whether or not you are going to suffer or thrive? What if everything that happens really IS an invitation and opportunity to experience higher levels of clarity, fun, and joy?!
Dream. Discover. Chill. Fly. Repeat.
“From a caterpillar to a butterfly, I’m living in full color and freedom is mine!”
–From “Transformation Celebration” © 2014/2015 TTRH
Terez Hartman is the author of Allowing Your Success!, a professional Keynote Speaker/Workshop Facilitator, Singer-Songwriter/Recording Artist, “Allowing Adventures!” & “Savor Vacation” Facilitator, true Renaissance Woman and Visionary. She has spent the majority of her life consciously working with the Law of Attraction and “Allowing,” and owes her many years of ever-increasing professional success, constant flow of creativity, vibrant health, many extraordinary adventures, amazing relationships with positive-minded, “cream-of-the-crop” human beings and—what she feels to be her greatest allowing achievement—her extraordinary “soul-mate” marriage, to truly practicing what she teaches in her writings, presentations, adventures and music. Visit: www.AllowingYourSuccess.com or www.AllowingAdventures.com.
