Today, as I perused the recent activity of my Facebook friends, this image came up.
Now, upon first viewing this image one would probably think it was funny. A caterpillar telling a butterfly it had changed, well duh, it's called the cycle of life. Or one might even go a little further and relate a personal experience to the picture (having a friend or loved one tell you that you've changed and they're upset about it).
A friend of mine, Annie, recently had an experience where at a get together with some of her old high school friends she felt extremely out of place. The feeling had saddened her greatly--these were the people that had made her feel like she belonged all those years in junior high and high school--and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. These friends seemed to have moved on in a direction of life that she knew she'd never go, and, inadvertently, she'd felt "left behind". She knew she would never change her standards, no matter the choices of her friends, but she was sad that at an event where they were supposed to celebrate their friendship with each other, her friends seemed to celebrate their friendships without her. They never said it out loud, never pointed out how much of an oddball she now was in the group, but everything they did and said spoke volumes.
Months later Annie, through what seemed like an innocent enough Facebook comment, found herself angry and hurt that one of these same friends would criticize her for her beliefs. This friend did not come right out and bluntly say that she disapproved of the life Annie had chosen, but the words, their connotation and what they were alluding to hit Annie as if this friend had done just that.
This troubled her greatly and she felt much like this butterfly, beautiful in her own life and happy with where she was but suffering scrutiny from the people she had trusted to always accept her no matter what. What Annie didn't realize at the time however is that, like the butterfly and the caterpillar in this picture, she has the potential to lead an incredible, love and joy-filled life. She has been doing all that she can to make her life as such, to become that divine being that she is destined to be. And maybe, like the caterpillar, her friend has yet to reach that same place and still has some transformations to make. Annie just has to be patient, and love her anyway.
I want to encourage anyone that reads this to do the same. Don't let what other people say or do make you feel insignificant or like your life choices are bad and or unimportant. If you find yourself in a similar situation as my friend Annie, just be patient with those around you. And, when you're on the other end of the spectrum, the one that doesn't agree with the choices someone in your life has made or is making, don't belittle them, don't make them feel insignificant because of it. Just love them anyway.
