Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued is always just beyond your grasp but which, if you will sit down quietly may alight upon you.”
-Nathaniel Hawthorne
I love this perspective on happiness. It’s gentle, patient, welcoming and fully trusting. I once had a dream in which I was a butterfly and I flitted and fluttered in random circular motion around a child who waited patiently for me to land on her shoulder.
I was also this child and as a child who had all the time in the world, I waited quietly and patiently for the butterfly. As did the butterfly, I too stayed, for the most part, within my radius of comfort, not venturing too far until spontaneously I would stretch towards the boundaries of my freedom to explore and discover what lay just beyond.
The greatest comfort for me came when these two states-of-being, security and adventure, were allowed to co-exist as one, ebbing, expanding and intersecting without restriction. This coexistence allowed safety within my world while encouraging the exploration of the mystery beyond. This duality is also reflected in the Native myth of the butterfly. It is believed that a butterfly that lands on your shoulder brings you comfort but the butterfly also symbolizes transformation.
Thus there is safety in contentment yet uncertainty with shift and change. How better to realize happiness than through positive growth?
Pursuing happiness is as elusive as pursuing awareness or conscious living.
We don’t run after happiness rather we are happy.
We don’t run after awareness rather we are aware.
We don’t run after consciousness but rather we are conscious.
If we need life to happen, we need to just be with it. It is a state of being. Not one to track down or chase after but rather one to be open to in those quiet, reflective, sitting moments when all possibilities are invited in.
We need to allow happiness, joy, love, transformation and life to happen by being still…being aware…noticing. And then allow ourselves to transform into the state we wish to be.
“Success is not to be pursued, it is to be attracted by the person you become.”
-Jim Rohn
As you prepare for your day take time to allow the moment. By allowing the moment you become one with your space; one with your heartbeat; one with your thoughts; one with your body, mind and desires. Ease into your day by being aware of your state-of-being.
Is it happy, sad, troubled, anxious or at peace?
Be with that state and gently move it around as if looking for the best groove to ease it into. Like placing a piece into a puzzle, you can see the empty spot where it might fit but you’re unsure exactly how. You cock your head slightly visualizing the perfect angle to place your piece. You gently turn it, easing it into its position.
How do you ease yourself into position each day so that you can be your very best?
How do you allow growth and happiness to alight upon you?
How can you invite in the transformational message of the butterfly?
Have a wondrous day of allowing in happiness, mystery, and transformation. Be one with the butterfly within you!
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© 2013 Lifework Coaching Inc.
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