Word of the day: Hope

Photo by Ed Zadlo

For the last few days I've been noticing caterpillars everywhere.  Seeing them has filled me with hope.
Hope that the heaviness that I've been feeling all around me is finally beginning to lift.  I can feel the sun
peeking through the storm clouds and it makes me breath a sigh of relief.

Everyone I encountered and everywhere I looked, it seemed, there was difficulty.  Still, everywhere I look
I see the grace of the Divine reminding me that "this too shall pass".   The reminders come in the words of
a lovely song I've listened to a hundred times. It was the grace of the Divine that helped me to hear the message of those words with my heart.  "the light brought darkness to it's knees".  "The darker the night..the brighter we will shine".  Seeing the caterpillar reminding me of the quote:  "and just when the caterpillar thought the world would end, it turned into a butterfly". 

The thing about caterpillars is that in order for them to transform into beautiful butterflies they need to go through not only the darkness of the cocoon but also the difficulty of making their way out of the darkness on their own.  If someone steps in to try to "help" them by making it easier for them to get out of the darkness they may come out of the cocoon a butterfly but they won't be able to fly.  (it's true...google it)  It's the struggle to get out of the darkness of the cocoon that gives the butterfly the strength they need to fly.

It's the difficulties and challenges of our lives that give us the strength to fly.....

I do wonder if those little caterpillars know that the darkness and struggles are necessary?  Do they know how beautiful they will be?  Do they know the beauty that is within them already?

Do you know the beauty that is within you?