The Beauty in the Process of Becoming

Maya Angelou said, “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” In the early days of elementary school, I was taught of the metamorphosis of a butterfly. I distinctly remember growing caterpillars and harvesting their cocoons in a tree nearby my childhood classroom. The week that we learned about the process in which a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly is still so evident in my mind. Every day, I would await the next school day, looking forward and counting down the days until the cocoons hatched and the butterflies emerged. Still, in literature and film, the metamorphosis of a butterfly is used to symbolize a spiritual or physical period of growth in which we expect a certain personal transformation. But, in these periods of growth, in our own personal metamorphosis, we often focus on the result of becoming a radiant butterfly, tending to overlook the changes we undergo that shape the intrinsic beauty of our wings. In making our new year’s resolutions, by which we may or may not have stuck to, we looked forward to the possibility of a new year. We thought of everything we wanted to achieve and of all the possibilities we thought we could be. We thought of all we had yet to do, those items on our bucket list left unchecked, all the places we have yet to see, and all our dreams we have yet to reach. We formed resolutions and goals, in part, based off what we have not yet accomplished. Alternatively, we formed resolutions based off all that we dreamt of achieving. As the excitement of a new year swiftly approached us, we were thinking of the result even long before the beginning of the year was upon us. We were thinking of the beautiful butterflies we would become before even making our cocoons. We were waiting to show off our beautiful wings and to explore the height that those wings would take us even while we were still caterpillars. While we have such adventure to look forward to in this next year, we must remember the inspiration in the every day. It is more than okay to be excited about the result, about the possibilities, and about the promise held within a new year, but it is important not to let our excitement about the result hamper our acceptance of present circumstances. We must be mindful in our present happenings so that we are able to be joyful in all circumstances. At times, we may find it difficult to be joyful in the midst of the calamity and the change. No doubt, we will face challenges, disappointment, discouragement, and failure, but we must acknowledge that those moments, even in their ugliness, play an important role in shaping our beauty. It is through those ugly, unpredictable moments, those times we wish not to remember and try vigorously to erase, that our beauty is more distinguished. It is for the beauty of becoming, that we must rejoice in the present. We must then find inspiration in the process of developing our wings. We must discover those sources of inspiration, seek out the people that encourage us and lift us up, visit those places that enlighten the truth and peace in our hearts, and invest in those moments that invigorate and revive us. For, it is in the midst of those moments that inspire us that those moments that have discouraged, disheartened, or challenged us become all the more worthwhile. When we focus on the present moments and how they are shaping and developing the wings by which we will soar, we will learn to value and rejoice in any moment, good or bad, invigorating or heartbreaking. We will come to value all these moments as the result of the intricacies that make our wings so distinct and unique for the purpose of our flight. We will come to love each moment and experience as they, without a doubt, aid our flight and amount to the joy in reaching our destination. But even more than that, we will come to love each moment and experience as they add inherent worth to our journey of becoming the people we are meant to be. Throughout the course of this month, we have discovered how reflection, rest, rediscovery, and revival will influence all the promise of this year. By remembering how years past have shaped us, by resting in what the present has to offer us, by learning to dream again, and by inspiring ourselves to courageously go forth in the direction of our dreams, we will learn to love not only the people we are becoming, but the process that we use in order to get there. We will then find beauty not only in the result of becoming all we have imagined to be and achieving that which is beyond our wildest dreams, but also in the process of becoming and achieving everything of our hearts desire. Let us now allow 2016 to become a collectivity of the moments in which we find inherent worth and dignity, that allow the beauty and intricacy of our wings to shine brighter than they ever could. With those wings, which we have grown and developed, let us soar to new heights and uncover unmapped destinations, so that we may be able to offer every unique part of ourselves in order to make our mark on this vastly beautiful world. As we continue into 2016, let us bravely spread our wings and soar.