Caterpillar to Butterfly: We don't grow when things are easy.

We all want the butterfly. We celebrate the wings. But no one dreams about the cocoon. The cocoon feels small. Dark. Uncomfortable. It asks us to be still when we'd rather escape. The cocoon is where personal growth through adverisity happens.

Looking back, though, most of the moments that shaped me didn't happen when life was going well. They happened when everything familiar was falling away.

If you’ve been with me this year, you’ve likely noticed a shift in my writing. A new rhythm, a deeper truth. It’s more real now. More raw. More honest. More me. There’s a creative energy moving through me that feels prolific, expansive, even sacred. It gives my heart and soul room to breathe. Room to rest. Room to heal.

But let’s be clear: this didn't emerge during ease or comfort. It was born in the thick of difficulty. Crisis. Burnout.

And isn’t that so often the case? Some of the most beautiful, purposeful things are forged in fire.

Think about the caterpillar. When it enters the chrysalis, it doesn't try to become a butterfly. It simply follows its nature, dissolving into something unrecognizable before reemerging transformed. And the struggle to break free? That’s not a flaw. It’s essential. Without it, the butterfly’s wings won’t develop the strength they need to fly.

If someone tries to help by pulling it out too soon, they may unintentionally cripple it.

There’s a sacred unfolding at play. The caterpillar doesn’t rush. It just is.

Be here now, as Ram Dass so beautifully reminds us.

That presence, that willingness to stay with the process, echoes in so many areas of life. I’m reminded of what my yoga teachers say: yoga isn’t about the poses. It’s about presence.

We grow when we stay. When we breathe. When we go through, not around.
That’s when the beautiful becomes visible. That’s when purpose reveals itself. That’s when healing begins.

Sometimes, our creativity and clarity come not despite the hardship but because of it.

We don’t grow when things are easy.
We grow and create, and rise “in the crosshairs of crisis.”
(T.D. Jakes, Instinct)

©2025 Lori Ann King