By Dilynn Wise
There are so many things that go through changes. The butterfly begins as an egg, then pops out as an itty-bitty little caterpillar. Then eats and eats and eats, until it is ready to create its cocoon or more accurately the chrysalis. The caterpillar then proceeds to break its body down completely into goo, and somehow builds a new body. A new body in a totally different shape and design than before. When this stage is complete it forces its way out of the chrysalis and is now a beautiful butterfly. Today I read, for probably the 30th time, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle, and the students who listened to this story have heard it before. But they were still enthralled and curious about how the caterpillar could eat so much food? And how did the caterpillar turn into a butterfly in two weeks?
The cycle of the Caterpillar, who was still very hungry, can have different meanings at various stages of the story. Every day the Caterpillar has different things to eat, and each day the number of food items increases. Like the Caterpillar, every day we should try new things; but does the number really affect the outcome? The question becomes quality versus quantity. On Saturday, the Caterpillar eats so much “junk food” that he gets a stomach ache. When there are things done to excess, when there are too many things in our lives that weigh us down physically and emotionally, the result is equivalent to a stomach ache. On Sunday, the Caterpillar simply has a nice green leaf, because this is what suits him best, making the Caterpillar feel much better. When we do things that make us happy, we feel better, too.
Now the Caterpillar is much larger than he used to be, and is ready to transform into the next stage of his life. Are you ready? Do you know when it is time to create a chrysalis and melt all of who you are into a puddle of goo? Can you start with just goo, to start from scratch? Not many have the strength to so this, the fear of failing can seem too much. This is when the questions bombard our minds.
But the Caterpillar is not afraid, he knows that this is the next phase. The phase that will change the landscape, and allow it to see what was meant to be from the beginning. Those beautiful wings that were made from goo are admired by so many. All of these stages and phases of a caterpillar’s life had a purpose and could be interpreted in many ways. To change is to believe in who you are meant to be and fly like a beautiful butterfly.