Life Lessons From a Butterfly #1 : TRANSFORMATION TRANSACTIONS

Throughout history, butterflies have continually fascinated humankind with their mysterious metamorphic processes and incredible beauty.

As a child, I was often nicknamed ‘Monarch Butterfly’ Perhaps because it was hard to match a rhyme with Monique, apart from 'Unique' of course. I have always carried, in my heart, a fascination for these amazing creatures.

My own mother engendered a love of all things nature, beginning with shell collecting on Great Barrier Island from a very young age.She decorated the most beautiful coffee tables, mirrors and other shell-mosaiced furnishings.

Mum's beautiful shell mirror made with love from the treasures at Great Barrier Island and gifted me on my own first Mother's day.

We holidayed there until I was 7 years old, until my father sold the bach at Awana Bay, purchasing and designing a 21 acre bush/ horticultural block near Muriwai, West Auckland.

Me at three years old on Great Barrier Island.

We had a plethora of animals, ranging from goldfish to finches, chickens to cats and dogs galore, guinea pigs, Ag-day lambs, kids, bunnies and the wild rosellas that regularly visited. Dad even went on,much later,to graze emus!

But none of these animals engaged my mother quite as much as the Monarch Butterfly! In her older years, she became, not a crazy cat lady, but a crazy caterpillar lady. 

Every visit to us, or us to her involved  ice-cream container cartage of a new set of wiggly friends which the children would delight in naming and caring for and observing the many trans formative aspects of this incredible life cycle. We have continued the legacy of raising swan plant and caterpillars and providing butterfly-friendly plants for many years now thanks to Mum's passed on passion.

My daughter raising butterfly-friendly flowers and caterpillar fodder ( milkweed)

Mum's passing four and a half years ago, and her recent heavenly birthday coinciding with this year's daffodil day, got me thinking about transformation and what better symbolic picture  and starkly contrasting life-cycle than that of the Monarch Butterfly to teach us some valuable life lessons?

The ancient Greek word for butterfly is Psyche meaning the  breath of the soul. Psyche (sometimes spelled Psykhe)  the Greek Goddess of Soul, married to Eros( Roman God of Love) was often depicted mosaiced with her fine, filmy gossamer butterfly wings.

In  psychology the psyche is the centre of thought, feeling and motivation, consciously and unconsciously  directing the body's reactions to it's social and physical environment.
(The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. cited on www.dictionary.com)

The butterfly teaches us that transformation centres upon our thinking, our feelings, our motivations and understanding those of others directly in our circle of influence and in a 
wider political, global sense.

Well worth a watch, a recent documentary on Shine TV ( Channel 25 on Freeview) called Metamorphosis  commented that in any stage of the current physiology of the butterfly's life cycle it was ingrained with both larval cells to grow and develop in that stage and imaginal cells to show it what it would become as an adult i.e wings, long legs and sensory structures e.g a tongue for drinking as opposed to a persistent penchant for munching.

C. Monique Wiles 2017 ( Nickname - 'Houdini')

How does one transform to such a drastic degree?
If we apply this teaching to our own lives, it's a gradual process of changing, simply one thing at a time. 
Baby steps. 

Where does positive change begin? In a person's thought patterns. Character is borne in the mind. Mahatma Gandhi (1869 -1948), well-known World Icon and Peace- Making Philosopher and Change-maker said:

“Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.”

Still very much true to this day!

Photo courtesy of www.goodreads.com

And it takes  approx 30 days or a month of dedicated, daily practice to make a GOOD habit or break a NEGATIVE one.

C.Monique Wiles 2017 ( Nickname 'Snuggles')

I just love the Proverbs for life's timeless maxims, mantras and  mantles. With 31 chapters, one a day is a great read and certainly food for thought!

Proverbs 23:7 says,  'As a (wo)man thinks so (s)he is. (NKJV translation -brackets mine making this quote relevant to the intended audience)

('Think - The Hebrew verb is found here only, and probably means, “as he is all along in his heart, so is he (at last) in act.”- Albert Barnes cited on https://www.studylight.org/ (public domain) )

Proverbs 4 :23 says,  'Above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it.' (NIV translation)The words for 'mind' and 'heart' are both inseparable and interchangeable.

C. Monique Wiles 2017 ( Nickname 'Hosea')

POINTS to PONDER:

Are you allowing others' words, attitudes, actions to influence you in a positive or a negative way?

How about your own words and choices? Are they taking you down a road you want to be on, in line with your imagine-cells, short and long term goals and the legacy you want to leave behind for your loved ones?

How much air-time are you giving to the 'broken record' messages of the past that have held you back in achieving those things you are purposed for on this earth?

This week I would love you to write down, think on and speak out ...

1. WRITE - one thing I am passionate about that I would do in a heart beat if there were no obstacles in my way? (XXPLORE)

2. THINK ON - Is there a broken record message that is preventing me from fulfilling this dream? If it makes you feel angry, upset or negative about yourself, and there is no constructive feedback or positive suggestion in it, write it, label it a LIE  then stomp on it, tear up  into tiny pieces, burn it, destroy it.  (XXPEL)

3. SPEAK  DAILY ( to yourself) or share with someone you can trust one antidote, affirmation or positive word of TRUTH which contests number 2. (XXPRESS)

In a nutshell -

~~EXPLORE who do you want to become?~~

~~EXPEL negative thoughts, words, habits and actions, confusion, doubt and lies - anything that hinders your progress in your journey of imagining~~

~~EXPRESS the positives, promises and accurate truths about who you REALLY are~~

Congratulations you have just made a TRANSFORMATIONAL TRANSACTION. Now keep practising and grow those wings Beautiful Butterflies .XX Continue to be XXceptional. Blessings and love xx

Monique Wiles / https://shellbewrite.blogspot.co.nz/

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