When we think of symbols of strength — or are looking for totems and allies for support — we often look to powerful birds of flight or large earth animals such as lions, tigers or elephants.
But perhaps we need to look first at how we define strength before we choose our allies. How do you define YOUR strength? Do you align with the aggressive force and power of the lion… or the gentle strength of the butterfly?
The butterfly — long a symbol of transformation — is also a symbol of strength and endurance. Not only can it migrate thousands of miles on delicate wings, like the bee it is a powerful force in the pollination and propagation of nature itself.
And the strength required to emerge from its transformative cocoon gives it the strength for flight. The journey itself transforms and empowers.
And it flies only when the process is complete, when its new wings are fully dried. As with so much in Nature, timing is everything.
So, perhaps you don’t need to be the alpha dog to find your strength. Maybe you need to be an alpha butterfly 🦋
“A butterfly is incapable of flight until the struggle to free himself from his cocoon has given his wings the strength he needs; the hardest you’ve ever struggled is the strongest you’ll ever be.”
– Christopher Abraham