A Butterfly Story

It's morning in the garden and I step outside to greet the day. I see my cat, Peanut and next to him is a butterfly. It's a Monarch on the ground, her wings fluttering in distress. I gently pick her up and she rests in the palm of my hand. It's a warm day so I know she isn't cold. And I know Peanut hasn't hurt her - he was simply curious about her fluttering on the ground. I'm not sure what's wrong with her.
    She continues to rest in my hand as I do my morning chores Even when I go inside the house she doesn't move from my hand. I sit down for my morning meditation and she and the cats join me. It's a rare treat to share meditation time with a butterfly!
    I get a hunch that she has a message for me so after my meditation I grab pen and paper and we have a "chat". She has so much to share as she reminds me that I too am a butterfly who is transitioning into a brand new life, and that I need to trust the process and fly!  After our conversation, I say, "thank you" as I place her on a bright orange Tithonia flower - a butterfly favorite - and she perches there but she doesn't eat ... Just then, my friend Mary shows up and I introduce her to my new butterfly friend. With that, the butterfly suddenly lifts off her flower perch and begins to fly in circles above our heads as if she's just awakened from a deep sleep!  She tells Mary that when I found her on the ground, she was tired and depressed and ready to give up. She had traveled far and wide and the nectar-rich rabbitbrush that sustained her travels had dried up and there was nothing left for her to eat. But then she found our garden where an open heart and an open hand greeted her - and a meditation revived her and she had come alive again! And even though it was the end of her natural life cycle and her days were numbered she would spend those final days sipping nectar - and love- from the magic garden and she was a happy butterfly indeed!