Caterpillars

I am fascinated with the hungry caterpillar which does nothing but eat and eat, hogging on leaves, oblivious to the world. And then one day, it stops, spins around itself, a silken thread, and cuts itself off, in complete isolation. I have heard that, inside the cocoon, it competely liquefies before it transforms into the butterfly. The struggle of breaking through the cocoon is also an integral part of the transformation, as it strengthens the wings. For us humans, the caterpillar stage could be the 'doing' stage, when the whole focus, the self worth lies in doing and the senses are engrossed in the material world. And then one day, the doing stops and the silken thread of thought is spun out. The disengagement from the material world begins, doing loses its charm and the focus turns inwards. The 'being' stage begins.The transformation happens. There is pain involved. The breaking of the cocoon is the breaking of the conditioned mind of self and others. And one day, the ugly caterpillar is the beauteous butterfly. Nature, in its magnanimity, provides us with these analogies of hope!