{"id":2061,"date":"2021-11-26T14:20:49","date_gmt":"2021-11-26T19:20:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/?p=2061"},"modified":"2025-02-18T23:21:46","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T04:21:46","slug":"becoming-a-butterfly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/becoming-a-butterfly\/","title":{"rendered":"Change"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>A caterpillar does not live its life waiting to become a butterfly.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>It simply tries to be the best caterpillar it can be.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">&#8211; Ram Das<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The above serves as a simple story with a profound message, a message that runs counter to everything we\u2019re told as we progress through life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We go to school so we can move on to the next grade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We graduate elementary school so we can go to high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then high school to college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, we graduate college so we can get a job, have a family, and do whatever it is we&#8217;re &#8220;supposed&#8221; to do in society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019re always looking forward. The prize exists in the future, and our actions today only matter in so much as we reach that the next step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perhaps that prize never comes the way we think it does, though. This isn\u2019t too surprising. Many people in their 20\u2019s, a few years after college, experience a weird sort of feeling. It\u2019s not really clinical depression. It&#8217;s more like: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo, this is it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Living our whole lives in order to get to that next step, what happens when we get there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Are we capable of completely changing our perspectives and enjoying that moment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Are we able to maximize our current experience for what it is? Rather than for where it can take us?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If we were never able to fully embrace and enjoy the present moment before, what makes us think it\u2019ll be any different now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like most things, I think there\u2019s a balance to this lesson. We need to set goals, we need to work towards something. It\u2019s good to know what our dreams are and take the necessary actions <em>today <\/em>to help us achieve them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet, we can also appreciate where we are now. We can understand that we are working towards something greater but also accept that this moment right now is all there is. Because if and when we <em>do<\/em> achieve our goals and dreams, we\u2019ll be faced with the same question we are faced with today:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Am I able to embrace and fully appreciate who I am, and where I am, right now?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Or am I still hellbent on becoming a butterfly?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A caterpillar does not live its life waiting to become a butterfly. It simply tries to be the best caterpillar it can be. &#8211; Ram Das The above serves as&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-my-thoughts"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Change - Writing to the Soul<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/becoming-a-butterfly\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Change - Writing to the Soul\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A caterpillar does not live its life waiting to become a butterfly. It simply tries to be the best caterpillar it can be. &#8211; Ram Das The above serves as...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/becoming-a-butterfly\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Writing to the Soul\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-26T19:20:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-19T04:21:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/caterpillar.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joseph Cifelli\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joseph Cifelli\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/26\\\/becoming-a-butterfly\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/26\\\/becoming-a-butterfly\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Joseph Cifelli\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cdc659d4d6adf5056f4c4bd2258dc4e1\"},\"headline\":\"Change\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-26T19:20:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-19T04:21:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/26\\\/becoming-a-butterfly\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":381,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cdc659d4d6adf5056f4c4bd2258dc4e1\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/26\\\/becoming-a-butterfly\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/caterpillar.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"My Thoughts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/26\\\/becoming-a-butterfly\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/26\\\/becoming-a-butterfly\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/26\\\/becoming-a-butterfly\\\/\",\"name\":\"Change - Writing to the Soul\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/26\\\/becoming-a-butterfly\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/26\\\/becoming-a-butterfly\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/caterpillar.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-26T19:20:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-19T04:21:46+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/26\\\/becoming-a-butterfly\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/26\\\/becoming-a-butterfly\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/26\\\/becoming-a-butterfly\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/caterpillar.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/caterpillar.jpeg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/26\\\/becoming-a-butterfly\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Change\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Writing to the Soul\",\"description\":\"A mindfulness &amp; well-being blog.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cdc659d4d6adf5056f4c4bd2258dc4e1\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cdc659d4d6adf5056f4c4bd2258dc4e1\",\"name\":\"Joseph Cifelli\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/cropped-cropped-MentalGrowth-Final-JoeyCifelli-01.png\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/cropped-cropped-MentalGrowth-Final-JoeyCifelli-01.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/cropped-cropped-MentalGrowth-Final-JoeyCifelli-01.png\",\"width\":140,\"height\":155,\"caption\":\"Joseph Cifelli\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writingtothesoul.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/cropped-cropped-MentalGrowth-Final-JoeyCifelli-01.png\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Change - Writing to the Soul","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/becoming-a-butterfly\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Change - Writing to the Soul","og_description":"A caterpillar does not live its life waiting to become a butterfly. It simply tries to be the best caterpillar it can be. &#8211; Ram Das The above serves as...","og_url":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/becoming-a-butterfly\/","og_site_name":"Writing to the Soul","article_published_time":"2021-11-26T19:20:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-02-19T04:21:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/caterpillar.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Joseph Cifelli","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Joseph Cifelli","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/becoming-a-butterfly\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/becoming-a-butterfly\/"},"author":{"name":"Joseph Cifelli","@id":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cdc659d4d6adf5056f4c4bd2258dc4e1"},"headline":"Change","datePublished":"2021-11-26T19:20:49+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-19T04:21:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/becoming-a-butterfly\/"},"wordCount":381,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cdc659d4d6adf5056f4c4bd2258dc4e1"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/becoming-a-butterfly\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/caterpillar.jpeg","articleSection":["My Thoughts"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/becoming-a-butterfly\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/becoming-a-butterfly\/","url":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/becoming-a-butterfly\/","name":"Change - Writing to the Soul","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/becoming-a-butterfly\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/becoming-a-butterfly\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/caterpillar.jpeg","datePublished":"2021-11-26T19:20:49+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-19T04:21:46+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/becoming-a-butterfly\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/becoming-a-butterfly\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/becoming-a-butterfly\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/caterpillar.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/caterpillar.jpeg","width":1200,"height":800},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/becoming-a-butterfly\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Change"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/","name":"Writing to the Soul","description":"A mindfulness &amp; well-being blog.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cdc659d4d6adf5056f4c4bd2258dc4e1"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cdc659d4d6adf5056f4c4bd2258dc4e1","name":"Joseph Cifelli","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cropped-cropped-MentalGrowth-Final-JoeyCifelli-01.png","url":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cropped-cropped-MentalGrowth-Final-JoeyCifelli-01.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cropped-cropped-MentalGrowth-Final-JoeyCifelli-01.png","width":140,"height":155,"caption":"Joseph Cifelli"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cropped-cropped-MentalGrowth-Final-JoeyCifelli-01.png"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2061"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2292,"href":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2061\/revisions\/2292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingtothesoul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}