“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.” ~ Buckminster Fuller
I read this quote over the Christmas holiday as I was learning more about Eric Carle’s work. He wrote the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar (for his sister, Christa, I might add), as well as the Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See Series. My niece loves those books and I bought her a game based on the stories. The butterfly gets a lot of credit in our society as a powerful metaphor, without much mind being paid to the humble caterpillar who believed he could be more.
Think of a caterpillar, a small, wormy looking animal, not particularly attractive or inspiring. He doesn’t don any beautiful colors, he can’t fly, and no one is particularly glad to find him out there in the world. Butterflies, however, are magical. We covet their appearance, and think imagine that a beautiful thing like a butterfly came from a tiny caterpillar. Without understanding the science behind the transformation, would anyone really believe that something that looks like a caterpillar could become a butterfly? No one except the caterpillar.
Think of all the people you know who have wild, far-out-there ideas. People who keep reaching and believing that they can change the world, or at least their small corner of it. People who never say never, who don’t give up, who roll with every punch and every speed bump that pops up in their path. Big thinkers who also get out in the world and do, even if it’s against all odds.
They may just be the caterpillars among us. We would do well to believe in them, and in our own ability to transform if we just believe that we can.
How would you like your life to transform as we start the new year?
Christa Avampato 