« random thought: butterflies »
Butterfly garland, photographed with Nikon D300 and 35 mm lens.
(Update: To hear and see this post, click here.)
A few weeks ago, as I was leaving my favourite coffeehouse, a butterfly flew in front of my path, nearly landing on me. I stopped to watch it, but instead of fluttering off, it continued to swoop around me, circling my head, my chest, my legs. It did this for a while -- about 15 seconds or so, what felt like ages -- and then it started to fly ahead of me a bit, so I continued to walk slowly. But the strange thing is that it never darted off like I expected it to; instead, it almost hovered, always a few steps ahead of me, as I very, very carefully made my way down the sidewalk.
After 3 or 4 steps I stopped again, watching it. It hovered in front of me for a moment.
And then, out of nowhere, another larger, but otherwise identical butterfly appeared right next to it, and the two butterflies circled each other, almost like dancing.
And then suddenly, they flew away.
I walked more quickly toward my car, one part of me thinking I'd witnessed something meaningful, the other more rational, more analytical part of me convinced that I was being silly, that it was nothing more than a coincidence: I'd just happened to see two butterflies looking for fragrant flowers, in search of nectar.
A few days later I was sitting in my back garden with my friend, Twyla. As we talked, a butterfly flew very close to her, circled her head and flew away.
"Wow!" I said, somewhat surprised.
Twyla smiled calmly. "It's my mother," she said.
"Really? Is that what they say?"
"Well, yeah, that's what they say," she said, shrugging. "That butterflies that come near you are really the spirits of people who've died, but who continue to look out for you."
I thought of the two butterflies that had flown in front of me. And I remembered my father telling me that in the days before my grandmother died a couple of months ago, she had said to him, "As soon as I go to heaven, I'm looking for Henry" -- my grandfather, and her husband for over 50 years. He died back in 1989.
What if ...
... anyway, I've always loved butterflies. There's something about metamorphosis, and rebirth, and renewal, and emerging stronger, more beautiful, and more powerful than ever that intrigues me about them. And so late last week, when I saw a garland of beautiful paper butterflies in a local Hallmark store, I couldn't resist.
These butterflies now hang in a window in my office. It just feels like I need them there.
Song: Butterfly by Corinne Bailey Rae
Sunday, May 17, 2009 at 8:43PM
Reader Comments (27)
lovely post. I didn't know that about butterflies, but have many a time before had the sense about them. Just this evening my oldest had me take this (not the best though) photo of flowers she spotted. My little guy is a Henry. Always love hearing his name echoing in the generations of families I meet.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/heather_kennedy/3540510563/
Wow, Karen, what a surprise this post was to me as I read on. My mom loved butterflies. She died almost 14 years ago and ever since she died, whenever a butterfly flies near my children or myself I think for a moment, maybe it's my mom. Just a silly thought, but it comforts me. I have never heard of what your friend told. How interesting.
Have you ever read this article/essay? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/15/AR2008081502356.html
Great story about guy followed home by a butterfly...
sinda --
Incredible story. Thanks for sharing!
K.
I'd never heard that other people think that butterflies are the spirits of their dead -- but I've definitely had experiences, repeatedly, where I've been thinking of my grandmother and have had a monarch butterfly appear out of nowhere, sometimes in completely improbable places, so it's nice to hear that I'm not the only one.
This post gave me chills. Good chills. :)
Chills and tears. What a beautiful thought.
I love this!
My daughter sent this to me this morning and I find I have tears & smiles on my face.
I know exactly what your friend Twyla is feeling. While my sweet 85-year-old mother lay dying and I knew she was about to go to a more beautiful place, I asked her to please send me butterflies after she had gone so I would know she was okay and at peace. And she does; she appears just when I need her most, and I'll say out loud, 'hello, mother, so nice to see you.' My sister even will call me & say, 'I saw mother in our back yard today, flying amongst the flowers ~ she had a brightly colored dress on, and I told her, my, my, mother, aren't we perky today...'
This is my favorite saying ~ by Nathaniel Hawthorne ~
Happiness is like a butterfly, the more you chase it, the more it will elude you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.
Just this weekend, Batman was out near our pool and a butterfly landed on his shoulder. He said, "See that butterfly? It landed on my shoulder and just sat there. For a long time. A really long time while I was skimming the pool." His mother passed away in February.
This is such a lovely post. It made me cry.