eclosion, not explosion.

the butterfly doesn’t emerge soaring,

the butterfly literally

crawls out.

 

and its wings,

they’re all scrunched up,

folded,

wrinkled.

 

when the butterfly emerges,

it has to pause,

take time for its wings to unfurl,

to harden, to take shape.

 

and do you know how it does this?

 

meconium.

(poop)

 

the butterfly pumps meconium

into its wings, some of it returns to

its body, the rest stays in its

veins and solidifies.

 

then, before the butterfly

takes flight,

“it will dispel the excess meconium from its body.”

 

so before it can soar,

it takes a dump.

just like a baby’s first stool.

 

and somehow,

just like the goo.

this all makes so much sense.

 

we’ve got to let go,

get rid of all the things that have

helped us grow.

 

the things we no longer need.

 

a baby’s first stool is full of

all the things it ingested in

the womb,

the things that kept it alive.

 

but when the baby emerges,

those things become

the black tar of

waste.

 

so many things in our

lives,

they help us survive;

but, we’ve got to let them go

before we can fly.

 

? what are you holding on to that once served you well, but now is holding you back

? what do you need to let go of to fly

>>> as you look towards the year ahead, spend some time thinking about what coping mechanism you might be ready to let go of in order to grow

we are fearfully and wonderfully made. 

with our wrinkled wings and 

bodily fluids. 

this cycle of life astounds us, 

confounds us, 

surrounds us. 

as we look to the year ahead, 

help us to be honest about the shit

we carry around. 

help us prepare to lay it down. 

help us prepare to fly, 

and help us to pause while our wings dry. 

and as we emerge, 

help us trust this new life that is growing.