In
my youth, in the beginning of my mime-dance career, I drew a picture of a woman
encased in a cocoon. Faint lines around the cocoon indicated vibrations and
struggle. It was a time in my life that I was dealing with a lot of frustrations,
felt bound by them, and was struggling to get out. Yet the cocoon was also a
safe haven, a refuge that I had created.
Metamorphosis
Soon
after, I developed a movement piece entitled “Metamorphosis”. It depicted the
story of the butterfly from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. Each
stage and the transition from one stage to another was an analogy of human
psychological development. I represented the cocoon by wrapping myself within
the confines of my own arms. To evolve into the beauty and lightness of the
butterfly, I needed to liberate myself from my own self-made armor. I struggled
to do so until I gained my freedom, rebirthing as a butterfly.
The value of struggle
Sometimes
struggle is necessary in order to become liberated from circumstances in which we
find ourselves or from confines of our own making. The struggle can precede and
lead to a rebirth and metamorphosis into a more beautiful and evolved being. Rather
than fear struggle or judge ourselves for struggling, it can be best to examine
if the struggle is necessary since sometimes we create struggle out of the
dysfunctional need to have a battle with someone or something. However, if the
struggle is needed, then I think it is best to allow it to be okay, get on with
it, learn from it, and do it with as much love, grace and compassion as possible.
Perhaps not
FYI:
There is a story that’s gone around the internet of a man who freed a butterfly
that was struggling to get out of its cocoon. Supposedly, it proceeded to die because
it needed the struggle to push blood into its wings. Well, that story is an
urban legend. It’s just not true. During the normal development of the insect, the
pupa bursts allowing the butterfly to emerge. It’s an easy transition without
struggle. Makes me wonder how much of our struggles are really normal, healthy
or necessary!
© Bibi Caspari 2015
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