Ever heard of caterpillar soup? It's actually a thing.

Yep. It's cooked up inside a chrysalis and served up a'la butterfly.

HUH??

I know. It sounds like something one might be forced to eat as a contestant on Survivor, but let me explain.

We know that when the caterpillar spins itself into a chrysalis, it emerges as a butterfly.

But, what the heck is happening inside that thing???

The caterpillar actually disintegrates in there until it is just a pile of goo.

If you were to open the chrysalis during this time, caterpillar soup would come running out!!

YUK!!!

But, then...magic happens! The cells begin to restructure themselves.

The goo is actually recreating itself into an entirely new being!

WHAT THE WHAT!!??!!

Isn't that soooo freaking fascinating!?!

The chrysalis is really a sacred place where magic happens!

Just like butterflies, we also experience this in-between place of transformation.

A time when we are in-between what is passing away in our life, the old, and what is still to come, the new.

And, it is also a sacred place where magic happens.

To be sure, it's uncomfortable to be in that place.

I know. I'm in that place right now.

Right now, I am caterpillar soup.

I can feel the changes happening inside me, but they haven't manifested in the outer part of my life yet.

I can feel that beautiful new creature being restructured inside me!

I'm in a process right now of letting go of everything in my life that is part of my OLD story.

The parts of my life that no longer serve me. That are no longer working.

But, the NEW hasn't emerged for me yet. I'm in a place of unknown and uncertainty.

I can't see where Life is taking me. I haven't a clue.

Other than deeper in and deeper down.

To more of that PURE LOVE that exists in me.

It exists in you, too.

I have a beautiful blessing that captures this in-between place so wonderfully:

For the Interim Time

When near the end of day, life has drained
Out of light, and it is too soon
For the mind of night to have darkened things,

No Place looks like itself, loss of outline
Makes everything look strangely in-between,
Unsure of what has been, or what might come.

In this wan light, even trees seem groundless.
In a while it will be night, but nothing
Here seems TO believe the relief of dark.

You are in this time of the interim
Where everything seems withheld.

The path you took to get here has washed out;
The way forward is still concealed from you.

"The old is not old enough to have died away;
The new is still too young to be born."

You cannot lay claim to anything;
In this place of dusk,
Your eyes are blurred;
And there is no mirror.

Everyone else has lost sight of your heart
And you can see nowhere to put your trust;
You know you have to make your own way through.

As far as you can, hold your confidence.
Do not allow your confusion to squander
This call which is loosening
Your roots in false ground,
That you might come free
From all you have outgrown.

What is being transfigured here is your mind.
And it is difficult and slow to become new.
The more faithfully you can endure here,
The more refined your heart will become
For your arrival in the new dawn.

John O'Donohue from "To Bless the Space Between Us- A Book of Blessings"

In this episode I share:

• The illusion that there is a destination to get to
• What the in-between place is and why we must pass through it
• What diamonds and butterflies have to do with it
• How we can move powerfully through such interim times in our life
• My own in-between story that I am currently in and the transformation I am receiving as a result

If you are caterpillar soup right now, too, just know that is temporary.

I'm certain of the promise for me and for you, that eventually, we will emerge from the chrysalis as beautiful new beings that can bring much love and joy to the world.

We must love the place where we are right now.

For where we are is a sacred and holy place.

We are here, in the very presence of magic.

It starts with us. It starts with love. ❤️

With Much Love,
Darlene Michele

Links mentioned in this episode:

To Bless the Space Between Us -A Book of Blessings by John O'Donohue

Outrageous Openness by Tosha Silver

 

*I am not an affiliate for anyone or anything. These are not affiliate links.

 

For more goodness, visit Making Everything Beautiful on the web! 

 

* Intro and Outro song by Tamir Leibovich ❤️