“Imagine all the people living for today… I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.” ~ John Lennon
Our world is in a profound upheaval, a shift that has been prophesied for decades. Systems are collapsing. The old guard – the keepers of the old ways – is fighting for survival. A new tide – one filled with hope and abundance for all – has swept ashore. It’s a sea-change long expected, but who could have predicted that a pandemic would be the catalyst?
There is always resistance to change. New ideas are viewed as harmful invaders. Those who resist the new ways – the ones adopted by the masses – ultimately must face an existential decision – flow with the tide or be drowned. This is the way of nature, and all beings on Earth live by these dynamics.
You might liken this process to imaginal cells in the metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly. A caterpillar spends its life devouring leaves, as it works a destructive path through its environment. The caterpillar’s goal is to eat until it can consume no more. Then it hangs itself on a branch and hardens its skin into a chrysalis.
As the caterpillar rests in its cocoon, an interesting thing happens inside the caterpillar. It begins to produce imaginal disks. These disks are viewed by the rest of the caterpillar’s body as invaders, much like the immune cells in our bodies when they encounter pathogens.
The imaginal disks continue to form, increasing production, and they start to link to each other. The caterpillar’s immune system becomes exhausted and fails. Unable to defeat the invader, it succumbs to this new life-form – a butterfly. The disks become the cells that build the butterfly. The caterpillar’s body turns to gel and becomes food for the butterfly.
The caterpillar’s purpose is to resist the butterfly and to sacrifice his life for it. He has no choice. Human’s on the other hand, have a choice. We have free will. We can choose to cling to the old ways and go by the way of the caterpillar, or we can awaken to the possibilities of a new world – a new earth – and thrive like a butterfly.
Those who catalyze the change might be viewed as imaginal cells. The caterpillar of old institutions and norms pushes back, but ultimately, cannot resist the tide of change, the butterfly. The old must collapse and give way to the new.
Humans naturally fight change, but change is ultimately unstoppable. Like the caterpillar, the purpose of the old system is to resist the new system. As the transformation or shift happens, the old system continuously fights against it. It’s at this time that we have an opportunity to view this, not as a fight, but as an opportunity to benefit all.
The universe is in constant flux. If we understand that this is a natural process, we’re better able to see this change as a beneficial one, not as an invading force. No one needs be left behind, unless they choose to be stuck in the past. Those who are part of the change can help the old guard see this change for what it truly is – a transition for good. Then we can all reap the rewards of abundance.
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