Snakes shed their old ski, trees shed their leaves in preparation of a new season and caterpillars go through a process of metamorphosis.

The Butterfly Transformation: A Perfect Role Model

Why the butterfly? Because it doesn't freak out when it knows it's time to change! It just sees change as the next step. In its caterpillar stage, it creates its little cocoon, goes inside, and when times up, and after quite a work out, it emerges, transformed into a butterfly...

It stretches its newfound wings and flies away to discover its new vistas!

Why can't we do that? First we would complain that we have to sit still. "I'm stagnating! I must be off my path!" and then we'd cry "Oh no it's dark, it (I) must be bad!" Then, when time to come out, "let someone else do the work. I'll be the supportive one." "You want me to fly? I'm still processing!" "I'm not allowed to fly; I fell down in a past life and it's my Karma to stay forever on the ground!" "I can't just take off without knowing where I am going!"..

I remember hearing that when we are stopped, it's because God is busy working out the details. It's just like the down time the caterpillar has to go through in order to be the butterfly. Can you imagine if the caterpillar said, "I can't stop now and just hang out in a cocoon! I still have to climb to the next branch!" If he only knew how much easier it will be when he can fly! We often forget how much easier it is to fly...

It does get dark in the cocoon of Transformation! A major part of our transformation is when we allow ourselves to go in and see our dark side. Jung said that too much light makes very big shadows! Any creation contains duality, Masculine and Feminine, Dark and Light. I won't say Good and Bad, as they are judgments about Dark and Light. The Dark is a necessary figure, without it, we have no balance. There is a wonderful story about the time before Kali took her role of dispersing disease, rot and death. Living was a misery, nobody died. There was no room! There was no food! There was no appreciation for life! Thank Goodness she heard our cries and gave us the gift of time, rot, disease and death. Now a baby grows up, has babies and dies making room for his or her baby's babies. We now appreciate the time that we are given on this plane...

I see the times when we are willing to look at the darker, more destructive side of ourself as that stage when you are cleaning out the closet. Everything is out on the floor and looking a mess! You think it will never look good again! It Looks like you get the same results in transformation! You pull out all parts of yourself (all the parts, not just the light, pretty, spiritual ones!) You throw out or recycle what is no longer useful and reorganize the rest...

Then you know what's in there, and you can reach in and get what ever you need! (and you don't waste energy worrying about what is going to jump or fall out every time the closet of your psyche opens!) Don't throw away all the Dark Parts, sometimes you need the Destroyer within to help get rid of a situation that has outgrown itself, or the Angry One who, once recognized as an important part of the crew, has learned the appropriate times and ways to express anger!

Once you have been in the Dark of the Cocoon long enough, it is time to get out! "Uh oh! You want me to leave the safety of this nice warm beautiful cocoon?" "If it's time to leave, I WANT A REALLY BIG SIGN!" Sometimes it's scary to leave that time of inner reflection and get back into the outer world. Sometimes we get lost in helping others and never get around to finishing our own transformation. Everyone knows that if your help the butterfly out of his cocoon, his wings will be too weak and he dies. The butterfly needs to go through the struggle to be strong enough to fly away and so do we! (Are all of us well meaning, helpful co-dependents listening????)..

Once we have emerged into the outer world, we find our new found strength and beauty that we had hidden away also emerged. We aren't so prone to excuses. We are now ready to take the next step and put what we have learned into action. We take that Leap of Faith, and begin to fly the highs and the lows of the next stage in our soul's evolution...

I am sure most of us can relate to at least one of the stages of the little caterpillar journey of transformation! Its spring and next time you see a butterfly go by, take a moment to remember the message it brings you. Ask yourself where you are on the journey of your transformation...

Then send that butterfly lots of love, YOU went through a lot to get here!

Perhaps obesity caused feelings of worthlessness, maybe unkindness or abuse from others. Life experiences have a way of bringing us down and there was a day not so long ago that I believed myself worthless. Worthlessness, defined as devoid of worth, use or value, is a terrible place to be.
We need to remember that each and every individual is born of worth and value; all humans are born priceless. Our experiences, our achievements, our mistakes do not change our worth: they build our character. They define our personality. We have wellness and illness but we never lose our worth.
 Consider these two $100 bills on a billiard table:

The bottom one is old and worn, bent, crinkled and tired. The top bill is pristine with nary a blemish or scar. Which piece of currency is worth more? They are both worth the same: $100. Experience and wear does not diminish the value of the worn $100 bill: it tells a story. Perhaps that bill bought a single mother a basket full of groceries. Maybe a grandmother sent it lovingly in a card to a grandchild. Maybe a drug addict traded the bill for a fix.  Maybe a dad gave it to his son for his first date and said, "treat the young lady nicely."

Wear and tear tells a story.
As people recovering from and battling with our bodies they show some wear and tear, battle scars that make us who we are, the shell of our former selves.  Our emotions and our hearts may be blemished and bruised, but our worth is in tack. We only need to recognize it.  If a person has been engaged in living then they have wear and tear: but they still have worth.
And let's not forget the pristine $100 bill. What potential it holds! Perhaps it will travel through a Salvation Army bucket or pay the bill to heat a cold winter home or take a child to Disneyland or buy the elderly a much-needed prescription. I hope it passes hands many times never losing its worth.

Today my friends I ask you to look in the mirror and appreciate the wear and tear. Celebrate it all - it is the journey of your life, it is not a measure of your worth. After all, there is no measure for priceless.

From Bel-
Passing through the kitchen

• 4 tablespoons Haagen-Dazs butter pecan ice cream: 155 calories, 11.5g fat, 10.5g carbs.
• 5 Lay's Classic potato chips: 40 calories, 2.5g fat, 3.75g carbs.
• 1 Oreo Double Stuff cookie: 70 calories, 3.5g fat, 9.5g carbs.
• 10 Rold Gold Classic Tiny Twists pretzels: 65 calories, 0.6g fat, 14g carbs.
• A handful of Quaker 100 percent Natural cereal with oats, honey, and raisins: 109 calories, 3.5g fat, 18g carbs.
• A handful of Cheerios: 28 calories, 0.5g fat, 11g carbs.
• A handful of trail mix: 174 calories, 11g fat, 17g carbs.
• 1 Hershey's Kiss from the candy bowl at work: 25 calories, 1.5g fat, 3g carbs.
• A handful of raisins: 86 calories, 0g fat, 23g carbs.

Eating while out and about

• 4 wheat crackers: 76 calories, 3g fat, 10g carbs.
• A slice of brie: 189 calories, 16g fat, 0g carbs.
• 2 heaping handfuls of movie-theater popcorn: 168 calories, 13.5g fat, 9g carbs.
• 1 bite of a hot dog at the ball game: 48 calories, 3g fat, 4g carbs.

While cooking or cleaning

• Crumbs at the bottom of a bag of Pepperidge Farm Nantucket Double Chocolate Chunk cookies: 140 calories, 7g fat, 18g carbs.
• The slices/edges of pie or cake that are trimmed before putting it away so that it looks neat and even: 86 calories, 5g fat, 9g carbs.
• A spoonful of Pillsbury chocolate chip cookie dough while making cookies: 32 calories, 1g fat, 5g carbs.
• One spoon of just the chocolate chips: 80 calories, 4g fat, 10g carbs.
• Peanut butter on a knife while making a sandwich: 95 calories, 8g fat, 3.5g carbs.
• Whipped cream off the beaters: 52 calories, 5g fats, 1g carbs.

Eating off someone else's plate

• Two forks full of chocolate cake that you would never order — but will gladly eat when someone else does the ordering: 117 calories, 5g fat, 17g carbs.
• Leftovers from your kid's Happy Meal at McDonald's, 10 fries: 53 calories, 2.5g fat, 6.5g carbs.
• 2 bites of a McDonald's cheeseburger: 80 calories, 3g fat, 9g carbs.

Leftovers

• 2 bites of cold Pizza Hut hand-tossed cheese pizza: 77 calories, 2g fat, 11g carbs.
• 3 forkfuls of beef chow mien: 68 calories, 4g fat, 3g carbs.

Drinks

• A sip of someone's beer: 24 calories, 0g fat, 2g carbs.
• A sip of Tropicana orange juice from the carton in the fridge: 28 calories, 0g fat, 6.5g carbs.
• A sip of soda: 25 calories, 0g fat, 7g carbs.