Hello there, it's Rosie. Welcome to Radio Headspace and to Wednesday. So I've been talking

about progress all week and today is about change and one of my favorite hobbies,

raising butterflies. Last week and my six year old niece came over for our weekly visit.

I've been raising monarch butterflies for about a year and a few of the caterpillars had become

crystallites. If you don't know, a chrysalis is the hard shell that caterpillars make and develop

in to become butterflies. She looked in awe trying to figure out how this tiny caterpillar could have

everything it needs to create and become a chrysalis and eventually a monarch butterfly and it's still in its shell,

working just as hard to transform. The metamorphosis of caterpillar to butterflies widely referenced when

talking about the stages of transformation that most of us can't avoid, like growing up or starting a

career, a relationship or any new chapter in life. The stages can be seen as one, leaving what is known

and comfortable, two, incubation, and three, the emerging of the butterfly. Each stage and each

process we are in is just another step towards our emerging. We may not be able to see our progress,

but we don't have to let the feelings of discouragement take us off our path. If we can focus on the

process, whether it's trying a new recipe, a new project for work or anything we create, we can learn

to become more patient and compassionate towards ourselves. When I was my niece's age, we raised

butterflies in our kindergarten classroom. It is to this day one of my most treasured memories.

This happened during a very chaotic time. Our neighborhood had experienced a surge of drive-by

shootings as the gang violence in East LA grew overnight. As we all sat patiently waiting for the

butterflies to emerge, I began to think it would never happen. I believe this was the seed of my

impatience. I would go up to the glass case where I saw these tiny green pods hanging from tiny

branches and twigs that were strategically placed. When they finally emerged, we all walked out

to the playground to release the butterflies into the wild. It was magical.

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