Walking the streets, I have been searching for Monarchs amid the purple Asters, yellows of Brown-eyed susans and pinks of Echinacea, and faded greens of Milkweed pods. Appreciating that some flowers were planted purposefully to nourish the many pollinators of our world, in what I like think is a small sign of ‘conscious evolution’ of our species. Gaze often caught by the flickering of the white wings of Cabbage White, said to be symbolic of abundance and peace. Or transfixed by the occasional glimpse of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, cloaked in its yellow and black patterns. Yet, persisting, still searching for the glorious red and oranges of the Monarch butterfly so evocative of youthful, playful pastimes. Noticing as well in stores nearby a parallel arising of oranges and blacks of the commercialized aspect of Halloween, so symbolic of a moment in time of change and transformation, even as the gathering of the Monarchs heralds the transitioning shift to fall. Appreciating how the two moments will overlap in two different countries, kilometres and generations apart. Monarch butterflies beginning their inspirational, many month, many generational, fall journey to their wintering grounds in Mexico. Not caring about the crossing of any borders. Arriving in late October just in time for the Día de los Muertos, ‘Day of the Dead’ celebrations, when ancestors and their wisdom are acknowledged and celebrated by various cultures, and a butterfly might just be a soul returning for a visit. Butterflies committed to a journey even though those that begin it will not be the generation that sees the ending that ensures their species survives the winter and continues into the next turning of the seasons.
This ‘choosing’ to see life through the experience of a butterfly’s life, or while settled into Yin Yoga’s butterfly pose, reminds me of the evocative story about their transformation from caterpillar to butterfly – the story of ‘Imaginal cells’! Cells containing the vision of a beautiful gentle butterfly laying invisible and dormant within the caterpillar with its often heavily consumptive ways. Cells that then light up as they swirl about within the chaotic material and energies of the dissolving caterpillar inside the cocoon. ‘Imaginal cells’, at first challenged and attacked by the immune system of the older echo of caterpillar identity, but persevering, slowly coming together, coalescing, transforming into a butterfly to finally emerge from the cocoon of its past. A story, popularised by the Evolutionary Biologist Dr. Elisabet Sahtouris, often used to describe a hopeful vision of human societal transformation into something of deep beauty with integral, interconnected purpose in the world. ‘Imaginal cells’ of cultural vision, such as the many ‘small’ shifts in human conscious choice such as addressing trafficking, sea turtle and bee conservation, gender rights, identifying international days of peace, developing humanitarian and all species movements and organisations, along with protocols of all kinds, encouraging mindfulness practices of different cultures, perhaps long present in small ways historically yet now increasing, interweaving, coalescing at times, even while being challenged, fought, even destroyed for a times by older approaches arising from a history of oppression, war, control and greed. Yet, somehow still coming together to arise in conscious evolution!
Inspired by the perseverance of butterflies rising again to travel the long multigenerational, multi mile journey of the fall time, to reflect ‘again’ on my own small life – what ‘imaginal cells’ do I want to nourish in this time of seasonal change? I know it may be simply reigniting past creative strands of practice, as much as initiating new ones. They may feel like the tiniest of steps, but persevering! Understanding how the busyness, and pain, and doubt, and at times despair in the world, will act to attack these small creative braver moments as I evolve my own weaving of intentional becoming. But I am drawn to persevering, motivated to ground, feel the earth calling to at least try again, and continue to work in whatever small ways I might as the apparent monolith continues to revolve. Remembering that things ‘have changed’ over our history/herstory, and are changing in ways we might not always see in the way our ‘newsfeeds’ are constructed. Not to say that we must not pay attention and continue to do the daily work of change, but appreciate as well how much ‘imaginal cell’ work is going on that is often invisible. Butterflies in for/mation!