Dear FlyLady,
Right as we were eating lunch today, our caterpillar we had caught in a jar and who had cocooned himself for a couple of weeks, started coming out of the cocoon and it was so exciting! We took him outside to see him fly – well he had to wait for his wings to dry and that took a few hours.
Not having seen anything like this before, I thought he might want some parsley, since that’s where I’d first met him – on a parsley leaf! So I went round to my herb garden – here comes the confession – BAREFOOT, NO SHOES! – to pick a bit, thinking he might need a meal to give him energy to fly – right as I got to the parsley, I must have stepped on a bee or something and it stung me on my toe – the tender bit at the back – this was about 4pm – my whole foot is still red and swollen 2 days later! We had someone coming over for dinner too – and I’d not yet got started with dinner and I couldn’t even stand up, let alone walk! FlyLady’s words were ringing in my ears thereafter!
About 3 hours after that little thing had crawled out of his cocoon, he made his first flight and I happened to just pop out on the front porch to see it – and my DH and DD saw it too! This little butterfly learned to fly in 3 hours – it’s taking me alot longer!
Struggling to fly in Nashville, Melanie
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FlyLady here: We are on a butterfly theme this morning. Here is the next little testimonial.
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Dear FlyLady,
I couldn’t help but pass along this little quote that I had just read. When I read it the words just reminded me so much of flying that I just had to share.
“How does one become a butterfly? You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar” Trina Paulus.
I thought it sums up being a fly baby. You have to want to get rid of the clutter if you want to fly like the FlyLady.
Take Care
Flying North of Toronto
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FlyLady Here Again. This is my Essay on Cocoons are not safe places.
Dear Friends,
Are you having trouble getting rid of your clutter? This is just a symptom of a much greater problem.
Your identity is manifested in your belongings. As a result of this, you feel that getting rid of even one book is in some why giving part of yourself away. Now hear me out. I know this is very hard for you. I have been right where you are just four short years ago. I am not as heartless as you make me out to be. I want for you, what I have Peace. This peace came from letting go of the things that had hidden the true me. This process helped me to become MARLA, the MARLA I had never known.
You see, I have always been searching for her, but she was hiding behind the books of a “Wanna Be” Lifestyle: Martha Stewart, Cooking magazines, Decorating Magazines and many other books. None of the things I wanted in my life ever happened until I got rid of my clutter.
My clutter included not only these books and magazines, but numerous collections of family memorabilia that I had clung to. This STUFF was holding me back. I can hear you now. “How could this keep you from being MARLA?” This was part of your heritage. Here’s How!
I was stuck in my Past and wishing for the Future and was not living in the present. OH! Poor me!!! for having a tough childhood or having lived through a bad marriage. I hoped that one day, I could have a good marriage and a wonderfully, lovely organized home. Do you see how I had planted my seeds in, “What had been soil” and “What could be soil” and I was not sowing those seeds in the “HERE AND NOW SOIL” that I was living…. My clutter was my camouflage. With it surrounding me, I did not have to deal with the NOW! I could sit and feel sorry for myself or dream of a fairy tale life.
This is when I began to take inventory of what thoughts I had when I looked at the things around me. If something did not bring a smile to my face, I got rid of it. If I had sad feelings when I saw an item, I gave it new home, by giving it away. A new memory of giving instead of stealing my spirit.
Guess what happened? My life began to change! I got rid of all the items that were holding me in the past and only surrounded myself with things that gave me JOY and filled my heart with Love! This constant influx of Love and Joy peeled back the layers of self-doubt. I emerged from my cocoon of clutter to find my wings and now I am FLYing high. So high that even in my wildest dreams, I never thought of the blessings that I have now. What is keeping your locked in your cocoon of Clutter? Are your ready to find your wings and soar with me. Peace is the journey, not the destination. Each bit of clutter you release allows you to FLY higher.
COME FLY WITH ME! Let go of your cocoon! Spread your wings! Lift off to heights you never dreamed!
FlyLady
