MyOshun July Newsletter

I'm lucky enough to have a partner who takes great macro photos of butterflies. He was interested in raising one from caterpillar stage, so we looked around for a Common Rue plant that might attract a Giant Swallowtail butterfly to lay its eggs. However when I went to the nursery, there was a caterpillar already on a Common Rue plant, so I bought that one. How fortuitous! We did some research and learned what to expect at every stage of the transformation. Even though we had this information, the experience still lent itself to a sense of mystery - wondering what each stage of metamorphosis would bring for this little being. In my excitement, I shared my playful new experiment with a few friends. Some totally understood and wanted to hear more, while others were more ambivalent. I told one friend and said the name of our caterpillar was "Lumpy" (of course, everything needs a name)... This individual's response was: "Oh, a bug." In another case, I began telling the story of Lumpy and the person I was speaking to cut me off mid-sentence. I attempted to retell her my story but she interrupted and changed the subject again! I found this obvious lack of interest, very interesting...
Lumpy the Caterpillar

I began to realize there comes a point where some of us adults are no longer concerned in connecting to our inherent sense of wonder, discovery and play - essentially, being as a child. I don't mean engaging in sports - that breeds competition (which is not a bad thing, but competition usually makes one intense and serious, which is the opposite of what we're going for). What I'm talking about is: just having fun with no agenda. Yes, no agenda. This is difficult for many of us - mostly because leaving time in one's calendar to "delight in the little things" seems a little nuts. Furthermore, with the job market and economy as it is, it's become increasingly more difficult for adults to justify taking time away from the perfectly carved weekly routine to lighten up and just enjoy. The priority for most of us is to make enough money to pay bills and have food on the table. I get it. However, we risk losing the balance of life when all we do is work. As my father would say, "Life is for the living." - and we're not living if all we're doing is working. Laughter, experiencing joy, connecting with others, communing with nature - is all part of living. And yes, you can always partake in some sort of fun activity with your own child, but it really has to be light and fun...not an activity that's exhausting, or about disciplining the child and work. Learning to delight in the little things in life and making time for fun with no agenda releases tension in the mind, jump starts your creativity and enthusiasm, lowers the blood pressure and breeds joy.

But back to Lumpy... like most caterpillars, he mostly just ate and ate, much like the common children's story, "The Hungry Caterpillar". He went through a few molts (shed his skin a few times) which was really wild to see in person, then left his host plant for a walkabout. At this point we knew it was time for Lumpy to pupate (change into a chrysalis), so we placed him in a sealed breathable container until he transformed. Once he became a chrysalis we moved him to a desk in our office. He remained in this stage for about 9 days. Then one day we came home and there was this beautiful little butterfly hanging out in our space, who we fondly renamed Lucky. We set him free, of course, and our experience was over, but the sweetness remained. A bit of joy crawled into our lives, then flew out the door leaving lightness, joy and laughter... and only for $2.50! Delight in the little things and free your mind.
Lucky the Butterfly