It seems trite to use the metaphor of the caterpillar, cacoon and butterfly… but the more i think about this process the more it amazes me. That the caterpillar, entering this mythical darkness… a death, to transform into a completely new form.

The cacoon has been used as a symbol over and over again as the dark and lonely place of death and transformation. The caterpillar enters it alone and transforms alone in its secluded pod… away from the influences of the outside world.

You don’t realize how much you are influenced until you fight to find a quiet place in your mind. To discover your own point of view is to climb the proverbial heights and walk the unpaved paths within the mind. It is very possible to go through much of our lives completely and totally influenced, led along, by the happenings of the world around us - communities, friends, family… though all an integral part of our lives, offer a constant stream of input, opinions, and social expectations.

For whatever reason I needed to hide in the cocoon for some time… to allow my self to ask myself questions, to think of my true answers. I started to realize that there are no ultimate teachers, and no one who holds the ultimate answer. There is no one single way, but more so that the “truth” or the “way” is reflected and inherent in everything around us - everything we experience and perceive. What and who are we looking to to tell us how all of this works? What can any of these celebrities, channels, e-books and influencers tell you that you could not begin to understand if you were willing to undergo the process of self-discovery - the cacoon.

I am enjoying the silence- and the clarity that comes with solitude and reflection. To be able to understand oneself amidst a larger context than “my life” has proved to be the antidote to many of life’s daily sufferings.