Stillness and the Path To Transformation: The Butterfly Cause

Read time 2 minutes. In this article we explore the benefits of embracing quietude and stillness.

Caterpillars, butterflies and transformation. This metaphor is a bit tired, a bit worn out. It needs, yes, some new life.

There is a bridge between the old and the new, the familiar and the unknown. That bridge is not the movement of thoughts and emotions. That bridge is stillness. Remember this before rolling up your sleeves and trying harder. Unless you surrender to stillness, you will never fly.

We might not think of caterpillars as the gold standard for movement, but they are perfectly functional in their own way. Inching along. Getting around. Eventually. But if given the choice would the caterpillar be willing to trade that movement for the absolute stillness of the cocoon? To basically become a mummy in a near death experience from the familiar into the unknown? Would you?

Transformation and the distraction of movement

Just like the caterpillar, we can transform. But our first obstacle is our adoration, our attraction, to light and movement. We mistake our thoughts and reactions, our highs and our lows, for progress. Like jazz hands, they capture and hold our attention. We think they define us. They entertain and make us feel alive. They fill the space, and so we supply them with meaning.

So long as we believe they matter, we will resist the very thing that allows for real change.

Everything begins with a realization. You won’t truly let go of something if you still believe it holds value. Transformation requires stillness. But we don’t like that part of transformation. We like a lot of movement. We have a high opinion of effort. Don’t get distracted by the jazz hands. Take a moment to stop trying so hard. Stop overthinking. Stop.

The transformation of stillness

A man of superior type resembles water,

Whose goodness lies in benefiting all things without contention,

And staying in places detested by the masses.

This makes him closely akin to Tao.

~ Laozi

Stillness is movement, not stagnation. Stillness is the movement of quietude, restfulness and calm, not waiting for something to happen. It is movement because it truly transforms us. 

So take a moment to ask yourself, Am I comfortable with stillness?  When things become quiet or you find yourself waiting, how quickly do you reach for your phone? Do you instinctively fill the space? Or can you sit with it? Can you let yourself dissolve?

The caterpillar does not inch its way into flight. It transforms by entering a phase which is detested by the masses. If you’re not willing to be still, that’s fine. You have your life. It’s a good life. But when you are ready to vanish, be still. 

Give up the inch. Stop crawling. Take the mile.

Explore more:

Take your understanding and practice deeper and further. Investigate the power of not-doing or discover the freedom of allowing.

And speaking of transformation, go ahead and transform your refrigerator and walls whydontcha? Shop around.