My magical friend Jeffrey Berke caught this every day invisible miracle in this mind-bending video he took on his second-story veranda in the urban coastal area of Southern California. He had gotten some milkweed last spring, curious about monarchs, but never saw any . . . until he noticed eight caterpillars crawling around his plants and lawn furniture just a couple of weeks ago.
Jeffrey says:
“This monarch caterpillar transforms itself into a chrysalis in six heartbreaking minutes. I expected the caterpillar to spin a silky cocoon, a comfy little campsite in which it sleeps and dreams of flying. Nope — it literally turns inside out. Its new form comes from within. The transformation is tender and swift and violent and even private. It seems this small being knows that it MUST transform, even as it resists, convulses, and finally surrenders, dropping its former shell and becoming this small jade-colored jewel. I happened to be in my garden, right place right time, and captured this totally unexpected miracle. Reflecting on the transitions we are all going through. If the metaphor holds, we are going to emerge with wings to fly. Sending wishes for miraculous transformations to all.”
Chaos and breakdown precede a new order. We all know this. And now, you and I have the profound honor to live through another massive cycle of change; with the awareness of what is happening.
If you’ve been feeling like this caterpillar seems to be feeling, take heart. Hold the miracle of what you see here as you walk in the world. Be a light for others, even in the midst of your own breakdowns, knowing in your very bones that we are all simply turning inside out, with everything we need to go through this transformation already inside us.