There is what we want and there is what we get. I want my transformation (my connection with myself) to be glorious, beautiful, and easy. I imagine a butterfly emerged from its cocoon; flying off into the sunset. Free, beautiful, above it all and never hungry again. The thing is, that first flight is not an ending. It’s a beginning. The beginning of a life the butterfly has never lived before. And the thing with this new journey is that there is just no way to see around the corners. So, what the butterfly learns, fairly quickly, is that it has left a particular kind of hard life as a caterpillar behind. It has fought out of the coccoon. That was extraordinary. Then it flys around a new corner and learns quickly that that victory doesn’t mean it will never be hungry again. Nor does it mean it’s feet will never touch the ground again. It doesn’t mean that there are no new dangers to face. It doesn’t mean all hardship and fear are behind it. It means it is meeting itself anew. It is learning new joys like seeing the world from high above. It means embracing the rush of flying. The wonderment of colour and beauty. All of these things come with navigating new fears like butterfly collectors with their little nets. Things a caterpillar never had to worry about. There is still hunger. There is still fear. There are still mistakes. There are just different kinds and on a different level. Transformation is glorious, beautiful and not-so-easy. It’s part of the bargain.