Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Lesson #10. Spread your wings and fly.



What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.  ~Richard Bach


The good things in life, like the butterfly, take time and lots of hard work.  Caterpillars are weird little suckers that eat and eat and transform themselves into something else completely. What a wonderful lesson from God.  You have the ability to become a beautiful butterfly, too.  Like the butterfly, it's going to take lots of hard work and determination. Right now, you are the catepiller, learning the ropes, eating to grow, and setting up for your future.  

What does your butterfly look like?  Butterflies come in all colors and shapes and sizes.  The beauty of being human, is that we choose our colors.  Some people choose the easy route and sit back and watch, but my wish for you, is that you work hard to fly with wings you've created.  Choose your colors and start to spread those wings.  

Go at life with gusto.  Sometimes it's that first step that seems so scary, but in the end, you'll be thankful you did.  It's like jumping out of a plane.  You could chose to sit in the plane and watch everyone else jump.  Thinking about what it must be like and wondering whether it would be scary or if you'll crash. You can imagine the wind in your hair and the view from above.   You imagine how powerful, yet small you'll feel all at the same time.  You have two options, sit back and land with the plane or jump.   I can only pray that you will chose the latter.    

When we are upon a big decision that will impact our life, we usually have choices. Some of those choices will be easy.  Others will be challenging and that when you need to realize that you are the fat little caterpillar ready to become a butterfly.   Don't let obstacles get you down.  If there weren't obstacles, we would appreciate what we've done to get where we are.

My first years of college were spent playing.  I was focused hard on the wrong things and letting the important stuff slide.  Failing classes left and right was embarrassing and disappointing.  I think I somehow thought I could dance on through and everything would work itself out.  I quickly, well maybe not so quickly, figured out that I was the one in charge of my future (and my grades) and failure wasn't going to be an option.  I switched colleges, but had to write a long letter to the new college basically begging them to give me a chance.  My track record was shady at best and on a wing and a prayer, they decided to take a chance on my ability to change.  I made new friends, put on my big girl panties and made the conscience decision to buckle down.  

It was that first report card with multiple A's that took my breath away.  For real!  I was so overwhelmed by my own ability, it started something good.  My caterpillar had hatched!  I completed my Bachelor's degree with honors and went on to get my MBA.  It wasn't easy, but once I spread those wings, following through was effortless.  I actually did better than I thought I could.  Amazing yourself by discovering your talents and skills is a great way to spread those wings.

One day, after college and before having a family, I felt empty and without direction.  I found myself in counseling, trying to work out my sadness.   It was as though I was at a stand still moment in my life.  Between life stages, I guess you could say.  I told her I longed to travel and see new things. After asking me a series of seemingly simple questions, she asked me a profound question.  "So, you have no kids, have no financial obligations, and are finished with school?"  "yes." I told her.  "So why don't you fulfill your desire to travel?"  I went home that Monday, called a friend, and very soon after, was on the road.

From Massachusetts, we drove to the most southern point of Florida, through New Orleans, to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas.  We ventured up to Seattle, through the redwoods and down to Santa Cruz and ultimately ended in San Fransisco.  If there could have been wings attached to the sides of my pickup truck, there would have been. It was so much fun, waking with the sun and seeing tons of new and exciting places.  It was like a dream vacation on steroids.   
It was during that drive that I realized how small this world really is.  Before I left, it seemed so scary and huge, probably because it was unknown.  Like I was this little nobody trying to make a dent in this big ole world.  I realized that only by spreading my wings and stepping off into that unknown, would I find and reach my potential. To become a butterfly, you can't go at it halfheartedly.  It takes lots of hard work and determination to find out what you really have inside you.  












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