Seeking the Beauty in the Muck

In a culture that relishes “before” and “after” stories, nothing holds more sway than the butterfly.

That moment when the butterfly emerges from the cocoon and takes flight is magical.

But focusing on the butterfly, and its magical transformation from caterpillar, is also deceptive.

To be sure, it helps to have a guiding light.

But focusing on the butterfly while ignoring the messiness of the cocoon phase is a disservice to ourselves and others.

We all want to know that we’re not alone in our experience. But if nobody shares what it looks like in the messy middle, we go through our own experiences alone, convinced we’re the only ones who face whatever particular problem we’re facing in the moment.

I am tired of reading prescriptive advice offered by people who have only the benefit of their own experience as validation.

I am tired of before and after stories that skip over the messy middle.

I want to see what’s real.

Sometimes, we have to create the reality we want to live in.

So I made a promise to be more visible this year.

Even when life feels hard. Even when I feel stuck. Even when I don’t have answers or solutions.

Especially in those cases.

I made a promise to be visible not just in my glory, when I’ve reached the “other side” and have created the course or program that will promise how I can help you overcome the thing I just went through, but when I’m still in the mystery of whatever the thing is and I have no idea how it will resolve.

(Although, to be fair, I often don’t step into visibility in my glory either. That’s a topic for another time.)

I’m so over seeing my feed full of promises of what life can be “on the other side.”

So I made a promise to be more visible.

In the messiness. In the muck. In the mystery.

I want to reveal the beauty in the cocoon.

I’m convinced its there, if we open ourselves to seeing it.