It was beautiful!!
Huge lightening bolts lit up the sky
The chapel flickered in the light show
And
Behind the president of the chapter
As she began to tell
The most lovely story
about Butterflies.
It went something like this:
(I could not find this story anywhere
I took this from memory)
There once was a colony of caterpillar
In a beautiful lush meadow
And every once in a while
A caterpillar
Would climb up, up, up
Into the highest tree
And was never seen again.
The caterpillars wondered what had happened
To their tiny caterpillar friend
And so one day made a pact
That the next caterpillar
To climb up, up, up into the tree
Would climb back down
To the meadow
And tell the other caterpillar
What they had seen
Up, up, up in the tree.
The very next day
A catarpillar climbed
Up, Up, Up into the tree
And on her way down
To tell the other caterpillars
What she had seen
Fell into a deep sleep.
When she woke up
She had the most beautiful colored wings
And was infact no longer a caterpillar
But a beautiful butterfly.
As she danced through the air
Under the beautiful sunlight
She remembered her caterpillar friends
And could see them way below her
And
So she sailed down to tell them
The wonderful news.
But the caterpillars couldn't understand her
And she flew away
Without being able to explain.
And feeling disappointed
That she had broken her promise.
At first she was sad,
but then she remembered
That someday they, too
Would climb up, up, up into the tree
And turn into beautiful butterflies, too.
The story means this:
In the grief process
The bereaved
must learn how to deal with the loss,
or significant change.
Many people may hide away from the rest of the world
Much like being in a cocoon while trying to heal.
This cocoon phase is one of transformation
And often introspection and reflection.
The process ends as the person emerges from their cocoon
Metamorphosed into a different person.
Thus the transformation of the grieving process
Is much like the story of the butterfly.
After the story
We went out to the garden to release
Our tiny winged friends.
Under the canopy of the hospice building
As we were about to release our butterflies
We were told this:
An Indian Legend Goes:
If anyone desires a wish to come true they must first
capture a butterfly and whisper that wish to it.
Since a butterfly can make no sound, the butterfly can not reveal
the wish to anyone but the Great Spirit who hears and sees all.
In gratitude for giving the beautiful butterfly its freedom,
the Great Spirit always grants the wish.
So, according to legend, by making a wish and giving the butterfly its freedom,
the wish will be taken to the heavens and be granted.
Just as we went to release our butterflies
The rain stopped
And as the butterflies flew away
The most beautiful rainbow
Appeared.
This is a TRUE story!
This really happened,
It was amazing.
It was the most beautiful sight
Seeing all these tiny butterflies
Dancing in the rainbow.
I will never forget Swan.
And I am hoping to be able to make
A donation to the SHARE organization
In her memory.
I am hoping you will help me...
Please stay tuned
For more information
In the next few days.
Thanks
Bryanna
As you release this butterfly in honor of me,
know that I'm with you and will always be.
Hold a hand, say a prayer,
close your eyes and see me there.
Although you may feel a bit torn apart,
please know that I'll be forever in your heart.
Now fly away butterfly as high as you can go,
I'm right there with you more than you know.
-Jill Haley
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