Shapeshifting Butterflies

I write articles a lot of the time when I am feeling inspired or positive. Right now I am not feeling those things.

I am feeling a bit down. A bit in the dumps. Stuck, I would say.

We all get in these funks, but there is no instruction manual for what to do when these moments or days arise.

So, I am going to write this and try to work through it myself to hopefully help you- and me, of course.

When it feels like invisible air is pressing in on all sides...like you are boxed in your own square of sadness...the future can seem bleak.

What is the reason for these times? Maybe, if we can find meaning in these moments, we can look at them from a different perspective.

I can choose to go inward, to see if maybe there is something bigger bothering me that I haven't emotionally dealt with yet, that is clearly forming an emotional and physical block.

It could also be that as a sensory, feeling, being I am picking up on a wave of emotions from someone else. First I need to identify, where the emotion is coming from and what it is.

Right now it feels like an undertone of sadness, and it is most definitely from me.

I then can ask myself, what do you need in this moment? I will usually hear an answer. "To relax, to laugh, to stop overthinking this"... that is what came to mind.

Interesting.

So what can we do in these moments?

For starters, we can feel.

Do not distract yourself. Feel all you can in the moment.

Then maybe we can remind ourselves to zoom out and laugh at the fact that we can even contemplate our own emotions. That we take life so seriously sometimes.

We don't always need to be in the light of the rat race. And sometimes sitting in the darkness is just what we need to propel us. This is where we get wise. We listen. We grow. We shapeshift into the future us. We are influenced to choose new ways of thinking and doing once we let go of whatever is in our way. These "dark days" are the chrysalis and we are the butterfly.

But we aren't just regular butterflies. We continue to evolve into all different types of butterflies as we journey through life. We get more dimension, more color...we grow a vast inner world.

I think even the simplicity of reminding yourself on these "low vibe" days that we are actually growing in some way can help.

We are meant to experiment here. We are meant to fail here. We are meant to play here. We are meant to evolve here, if we choose.

A new circular way of living is making its way into the public consciousness. It is not all about success or getting to the top, or becoming a master in your field.

It is about self-expression, giving back, receiving, remembering who you truly are, experimenting with new versions of yourself, birthing truly new art into the world, basically doing whatever the f*** you want. Validation comes from the inside. I don't know how society will support this but I do know it's coming, and if you feel the truth of this, you know too. And yes, my ego is a little scared too.

Here is a poem that randomly came to me that summarizes whatever it is I am trying to say. Ponder it and let it mean whatever it needs to mean for you:

When we fly, we get too high

and when we're low and don't know where to go

there's always inside that catches us

and keeps us out of the snow.

Written by: Dana Kippel