COCOONING - END OR BEGINNING

PRACTICE: Make a list of the wings you grew during “this season of loneliness and isolation…”

Chances are very good as you are reading my thoughts that I am officially done with much of the sheltering in place cocoon. I have returned to the active side of work.

In March 2020, when I shared the line , “I believe if we are able to embrace our current state of cocooning, we too will be reborn on the other side more beautiful, more resilient, more agile, and able to soar and live beyond what we are able to see or imagine,” I had no way of knowing how profoundly different my world would be on this side of 13 weeks in the cocoon… a bit longer than the 7 to 30 days it takes for the caterpillar to become a butterfly… 13 weeks since I have had to leave home to “go to work.”

Let’s be clear, I have been working and I have been worked on. Just because I was not able to have face to face interactions with the customer, did not mean that my employer did not train me to face them virtually. Since I acquired that knowledge, I used it in my personal life. I have attended a virtual piano recital for a young niece and nephew, numerous parties of all kinds and a zoom through receiving line.

An appreciation of time and the merits of being present are the precious wings that I grew in the proverbial cocoon. Food played an important role in growing these wings. Food thoughtfully researched, prepared and shared leisurely with family – is a priceless experience. Nothing gladdens my heart like lingering over food and drink at the dinner table longer that it took to prepare the meal itself. The “normal” for us was, eat as quickly as possible so that we could move on the next thing. I pray that this new-found appreciation for time and presence is my new “normal.”

Yes, I re-enter the world from my cocoon with more inner beauty, more agile and resilient. I also re-enter with a keen awareness that the world I separated from has changed. In my opinion, my country is in its own “cocoon” right now. In the cocoon, the caterpillar digest itself, the old body dies, a new body is formed. If anything interrupts the process everything is lost…no caterpillar and no butterfly. I will leave that thought on the table.

Ephesians 1:18

PONDER THIS THOUGHT: Cocooning is a faith builder. One never knows who will emerge on the other side.