Touched By A Butterfly

Written By Don Shetterly

There I was, struggling with all that life had thrown at me that day. I had been triggered, derailed and was struggling to come up for air.  Yet, in the midst of all the turmoil, I was touched by a butterfly.  That moment did so much for me.

I was at the butterfly exhibition located at UCF in Gainesville.  While there were many butterflies flying around, there were also a lot of people.  It was very crowded.

Most of the time, you need to stand real still for a butterfly to land on you.  I think they sense your energy and stillness which determines if they land on your or not.  Because of all the activity, they were not landing on many people.

As I stood there trying to dodge people walking by, I noticed a beautiful orange butterfly land on my foot.  For a moment, he just hung out there.  So, I stood there as still as I could while enjoying the moment.  I had my phone on record.

As I stood there, the butterfly began to make his way up my leg.  I was not about to move as I was enjoying the experience.  The more I stood still, the higher he climbed.  He then got to my waistline near my shirt and stopped.

I was afraid to move for fear I would scare him away.  Butterflies mean so much to me and I did not want to interrupt what was happening.

Even with all the people milling about, he continued to stay attached to my upper leg.  He was not going anywhere.  I did not want him to leave.

So as I continued to take pictures around me and move around ever so gently, he hung on to my clothes.  For the better part of an hour, he stayed right there with me, never leaving or moving.  I got more comfortable and started walking around the exhibit more, but he stayed with me.

Finally, when it was getting late and I was ready to leave, I had one of the workers lift him from me.  The orange butterfly was so calm and relaxed.  It really struck me as odd that he did not want me to leave and I didn't want him to leave either.

Through the difficult moments I was experiencing, this little butterfly touched me deeply.  It was almost as if he was there letting me know that I was special to him.  He impacted my heart in a way that got through the pain.

I'll never forget the butterfly.  I love the creatures so much, but this one definitely stole my heart.  Realizing that they only live for a short time and what they go through to be born, I'm in awe of what he meant to me.

Sometimes in our deepest darkest moments of hurt, it is the little things that touch us the most.  These are the things that can reach through the pain and help us find a moment of support.  Yes, nature is one of the greatest gifts in life I believe.

Here's a little video of the butterfly (on my Instagram account) crawling up and hanging out with me.  Seeing the video brings tears to my eyes.  I know, you had to be there to experience it firsthand, but hopefully, my little story will help remind you of something important.  If you're down and hurting, connect with nature.  Nature has a way of healing our soul and our pain.

My life was forever changed that day when I was touched by a butterfly.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 1/1/18 by Don Shetterly

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The Caterpillar And The Butterfly

The day was like any other day.   The birds were chirping and soaring through the bright blue sky.  The little caterpillar was slowly trudging along the ground through the bright green grass.  The sun was shining down warmth upon the earth.

The little caterpillar noticed the beautiful butterflies flying here and there through the flowers and vegetation.  They seemed to go at ease and have no cares in this world.  "It wasn't like they needed to worry about getting stepped on like I do" the caterpillar thought to himself.

Finally after watching this for a significant part of the day, the caterpillar called out to the beautiful orange butterfly circling around.  "How do you soar and fly like that? he asked.  "Do what?" she asked.

The caterpillar cleared his throat and amplified his voice asking one more time, "How do you soar like that?"

The butterfly responded, "It is actually very easy, but you must first become a butterfly to fly like we do."

Perplexed, the caterpillar said, "I would like to become a butterfly.  I will do anything to fly like you do and enjoy a world far above my view.  Do I just make an affirmation and believe it is so?"

The butterfly explained to the caterpillar exactly what she meant.  She explained that he would have to surrender his existence into a cocoon and leave all that he knows.  He would completely transform from the shape and form he was now, into a butterfly.  Once he did this, he would not resemble anything that he is today and he would not be able to go back to this life that is his.

The caterpillar was confused.  How could he transform into something that he was not, and he wondered if it would be painful.  What would happen if he surrendered into this new form to become a butterfly?  All he had known was the life that he now lived crawling around on the ground.

The butterfly went on to explain that even though the change may seem difficult and confusing and it may not make complete sense, it is the only way for a caterpillar to become a butterfly.  It is a marvelous transformation, but the only way to find out is to surrender and let go of the life that you know.  It doesn't happen overnight, but takes some time to complete.

We are much like the butterfly and the caterpillar.  Until we surrender to all that life holds for us, we will not transform into that which we are meant to be.  We will remain a caterpillar crawling on the ground, wondering what the butterfly sees.  Yes, the transformation may not be easy. We will need to lose our self in the process so that we can discover who we truly are.


Check the following website out if you want to know more about how a caterpillar transforms and evolves.  How Caterpillar Gruesomely Turn Into Butterflies.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 1/7/16 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Grounded And Recharged at Desert Botanical Gardens

Today, I saw beauty.  Today, I spent several hours in the hot sun at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, Arizona.   Just as many others said, "this place does not disappoint".  I had just been to the Botanical Gardens in Miami a few months ago and while the vegetation is different in the Desert one, both places offer an unique perspective on the world in which we live.

I love the variation and mixture of plants and animals as well as the variation from one geographic location to another.  When you stop and think about how many species of creatures and plants inhabit this world, it is mind blowing.  I've only seen a small subset of the entire population.

Walking through this area, it felt so good to be out in nature.  The stress load has been high lately and I needed to find grounding in life and just needed to re-energize my batteries.  It is moments like this that help keep me sane in amongst a stressful and hectic pace.

Yellow Butterfly Painting

Months after starting this painting and then letting it sit before I got back to it, I finally finished it on June 7, 2011. For some reason, this date seems significant but I could not tell you why I feel that way. While I love this painting, especially the colors, there were some bittersweet moments in the completing this painting. Those moments will remain hidden within me.

Yellow is one of my favorite colors and against the blue, it really just brings this entire image alive to me, not from what I see, but from what I feel. It is simple but yet provocative. It is profound but yet it is simple. If I added anything else to it, the painting would cease to be an image. Instead, it would be a cluttering of colors.

A yellow butterfly is synonymous with angels to me. When I see a yellow butterfly, I always think of angels. Actually when I think of angels, it is more often than not that I see a yellow butterfly. I consider the yellow butterfly something that is of a spiritual nature to me and takes me from my current moment into what is beyond my realm of awareness and hopefulness.

In this particular painting, I tried to give it texture to make it appear active rather than just an image. The lines that aren't perfect, the texture of the brush strokes, the layering of the palm branch over the butterfly plus much more add to the mysterious texture woven into the painting. I won't give it all away because I want someone to look at the painting and see much more than is on the surface.

When I hit times in life where things are difficult or unknown, this painting just gives me a moment of pause and connection. It helps me to know that things are okay and one can always take off from the ground (or the current awareness) into all that the sky offers. Of course, the sky never ends and neither does our awareness or hopefulness. What we see today is not what we will know tomorrow. Our life is much more than that.




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Blog Post & Images (c) 6/7/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

If any part of this post is used or shared, a link back to this site is required.
http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/
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The Yellow Butterfly Angel

This is my journal recording of a dream I had this morning (9/4/10) about the yellow, butterfly angel. It is recorded as I wrote these things down. The flow of the words may be a little off, but I am typing this as I recorded it in my journal. The picture that is associated with this write up is what I painted this afternoon.

Just before my alarm went off this morning, I dreamed of a yellow butterfly flying around me. As I looked out a window that had a pasture of green grass over it, in my dream, the yellow butterfly continued to fly all around. It seemed to grow and take on the shape of an angel. When it stopped and landed, it stood upright. Its height was as least as tall as I was and it was looking directly at me.

The colors were magnificent. There were shades of yellow and almost like a red bow of ribbon wrapped around its mid-line area. The wings were unlike any thing I had ever seen. They were so rich, vivid and were full of so much depth. From various shades of yellow mixed in with reds, the image was so vibrant and full of energy. I felt protected, safe and comforted when I saw this. It was a very uplifting and positive image.

The image is unusually clear in my mind as I write this. It only came to me in my dreaming just before my alarm went off or so it seems. I am recording these moments right after waking up to make sure I do not forget any of the detail.

To me, this dream is significant, because lately I've felt the presence of an angel through a beautiful and gorgeous yellow butterfly that has visited me during my meditation times. I rarely see it any other time and it does not always appear.

There is no way I can easily describe this, but I get the sense it is an angel appearing to me much like the dream I had this morning. When I see the butterfly flying around, which again is rare, it is at the moments I've been asking questions in my mind or I just need to know I'm not alone.

I'm not going to try and analyze if this dream is real or just a symbol. The way I can still picture the vivid image in my mind after waking up is unusual for me. The sense of comfort and peace I feel is very much around me. In my mind, I know what I sensed and that's good enough for me.

Of all colors, yellow is one of my favorites but I've never seen these shades of yellow before that I saw in the image this morning. This yellow was so vibrant and so multidimensional. It matches the butterfly that I've been noticing lately. In addition to this, I was able to immediately record my thoughts.

As I record this, I feel a sense of peace, comfort and calmness coming over me. It is like everything I asked about lately is going to be okay. I can feel the lightness of my breathing almost as if I am peaceful, comforted and taken care of. The world around me looks so peaceful and calm right now. I feel that within my body, the tension in my neck, shoulders and back just let go.

The final part of the image from this morning was in the midst of the pasture of green grass where the angel stood, there was a tree growing. It was of medium height but so full of leaves and branches. It seemed to depict keeping myself grounded into the earth as well as showing me that I have so much courage and strength within myself.


Picture taken of the painting, The Yellow Butterfly Angel (c) 09/04/10