This Opening seems to be multi-faceted. I’ve been through a lot of stages within it and the outcome is not yet clear.

Transformative Openings

The changing of a caterpillar into a butterfly is a much-used metaphor for transformation. It is also a useful one. The caterpillar is living in its ordinary world, on the ground. There is a cocoon stage where the caterpillar is away from its ordinary world and undergoes a rather messy process of transformation. Then, it reemerges into the world as a butterfly, with a very different life.

The analogy is clear to see. The caterpillar endures quite a lot to become a butterfly. It is living its ordinary life on the ground, enters the Opening of a cocoon, goes through a messy process of change and comes through the Opening as a new being. That’s something we can understand. Chrysalis Openings are unique in their multi-stage nature and the extreme transformation they create.

Chrysalis Openings involve some mystery. Our destination is not always clear. Being fully present in the moment is the best way through a Chrysalis Opening and involves getting comfortable with the unknown and trusting that we will find our way amidst significant change. Chrysalis Openings are not one stage ones like getting a new job or starting a relationship. They involve multiple roads and often, significant time.

Enduring Chrysalis Openings

With all that is involved in Chrysalis Openings, enduring them takes some doing. Often, we do not know the nature of the Opening that we are entering – much like the caterpillar. We may have welcomed the Opening – as the caterpillar willingly spins the cocoon; but after that we are on an unknown trail. Unanticipated things may occur. Some may be joyful. Some may challenge us. Eventually, we see their merit in changing us for the better.

Change doesn’t happen without affecting us. The caterpillar endures chaos – the breaking down of its tissues and, in that breakdown, its cells starting to form the butterfly. There is dissonance as the caterpillar tries to survive. It does not know what is happening to its body. Its cells that transform to create the butterfly must multiply and fight off the other cells’ attacks. (Goodness!)

Then there is the issue of timing. The cells inside the cocoon must participate in and endure the Chrysalis process. Otherwise, the butterfly will not form. Sometimes inside the cocoon it’s like a soup of dying and transforming cells. In a Chrysalis Opening, we may have to release what was to bring in the new. And then, the butterfly must emerge at the right time, fully formed, to survive in the outside world.