Butterflies Don’t Crawl
Let go of useless habits.
Check The Mirror
Leo Tolstoy said, “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”
I disagree.
Why? Because I don’t think that everyone thinks of changing the world.
But I do agree that very few people think of changing themselves.
A few days ago, when I asked a friend how he liked his new job counseling people, he answered, “Not many people want to be helped.”
And yet, for change in the world to come about, the man-in-the-mirror must change first.
But how?
Empty The Trash
I was updating a page on my website, but no matter what I did, the changes would not appear. The page remained stuck in the past. Finally, I realized it was somehow connected to a page I had thrown in the trash.
I had to empty the trash to break the connection, and then all the changes I had made became visible.
Isn’t that so like what we do in our lives?
We think we have thrown away old habits, ideas, thoughts, and emotions, but they are just sitting in a trashcan somewhere, holding up progress.
We must be willing to empty the trash for change to be visible.
Habits As Servants
It’s all about habits.
I love habits.
Habits are the basis of everything we do, otherwise imagine how chaotic life would be.
The problem is not having a habit. It is holding on to unwanted and outgrown habits, which can range from useless to dangerous.
To make habits our servants, rather than being servants of habit, we must be willing to discard an outgrown habit for a new one.
"Take me, train me, be firm with me, and I will place the world at your feet. Be easy with me and I will destroy you. Who am I? I am Habit!" - Author Unknown
To change to an improved version of ourselves, new habits must support that change.
Caterpillar To Butterfly
The caterpillar changing into the butterfly is a symbol that we all understand.
However, what if that was us?
What if the change required was so absolute that nothing about our lives and ourselves looked the same?
Could we do it?
What if the butterfly didn’t want to acquire the new habit of flying and continued to crawl along the ground as if it were still a caterpillar?
John F. Kennedy said, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
Change and habits can work in perfect harmony.
Good habits are the backbone and strength of change. We can develop the habit of letting good habits yield even better habits.
Bad Habits Are Sneaky and Persistent.
Here’s the trouble. Bad habits are very persistent and sneaky.
While we waited for a Zumba class to begin, one of the women talked about how, over the summer, she had let the habit of coming to class yield to the habit of not coming to class without noticing it had happened.
We have all experienced the return of old habits we thought we had trashed but were lurking in the trashcan to return as soon as we stopped paying attention.
When changing habits, the butterfly has it easier than we do because it already knows its true nature.
We forget ours.
Know Your True Nature
The butterfly knows that being a caterpillar is a temporary preparation for the expression of its butterfly state.
(Okay, I haven’t talked to one, but someday, when we all get to, I am sure it will tell us something like this.)
We get locked into a way of seeing ourselves – this is how I am – and then we become frozen in old habits.
The Infinite One Ever Expanding
What if we could remember, even a few times a day, that we are the expression of an infinite One that is ever expanding?
We would know and accept that we constantly move from a caterpillar state to a butterfly one.
We don’t notice this constant change because we remain attached to old beliefs hanging out in the trashcan, not discarded.
If we let go of the habit of claiming to be human (as in a caterpillar), change and habits that support that change will come more easily, we wouldn’t say things like:
I don’t know how. I am too old, young, or stupid to learn.
I am not interested in changing or being better.
I am stuck in past history.
Things didn’t work out before, so I am afraid to move on.
I can’t keep up with all the changes.
I am too short, too tall, too skinny, too fat, too weak,” and on and on.
Nope, we wouldn’t say any of those things anymore.
Instead, we would move to spiritually healthy habits that support flying, leaping, dancing, singing, and joyously celebrating the expression of our true spiritual nature.
Just like the butterfly, we would not crawl. We would fly.
If you are serious about choosing spiritually healthy habits, this book shows you how: The Four Essential Questions: Choosing Spiritually Healthy Habits.