Transformation Part 2

“The word transform comes from the Greek word metanoia from which we get the word metamorphose like a caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a butterfly…” — Rick Cox

As stated in the Part 1, in order to transform, all of us must go through the cocoon process. I admit this is not the easiest of processes. As a matter of fact, it can be frightening due to the fact we are not aware of what will happen in that cocoon or how things will turn out. It is the unknown that is always the toughest thing to face, but we will get to that in a bit. It may be easier for you to start from the point that you are already in a cocoon. Why is this? It is because you are already bound and kept from being your best by negative and pessimistic thinking.

All of us start out as a caterpillar. The only thing that differs is that as a child many do not have any fears. Fear is mostly a learned trait. Even though children believe all things are possible, their thinking has not been tested and tried and thus they will shrink back when things don’t work out to what they believed. Example is a light bulb. A child sees a light bulb and believes this interesting glow is coming from something that needs to be touched. Oh, but once they touch it, wow, things change. Their belief that all will be well switches to horror and pain.

None the less, just like growing child, all of us start out crawling from one place to another. There is no thought at that time there is a butterfly within that is able to fly about and show off its beauty to the world. As a caterpillar, most of us do not have any beauty to speak of on the outside. As we grow, what is said to us and about us often takes a strong foothold with the result of forming our personal selfimage, bad or good. This often helps to keep us either as a caterpillar or bound up in a cocoon that never allows our beautiful transformation to take place.

There is an interesting thing about the cocoon. It is where we transform. It is where we go from being cursed with only the ability to crawl, to being blessed with the ability to fly; from pessimism believing nothing will work to our advantage to optimism where we believe all will work to our good; from can’t (I am not good enough or able) to can (I am good enough and I can do what I set my mind and heart to do); from unable to able; from ordinary to beautiful. This is about having

faith in what you cannot see. It is about believing in the innate abilities God placed within you. It is about believing what God has said about you: you are blessed; you are prosperous; you are loved; you are one of a kind; you are the head; you are a lender; you are a above and you are the apple of his eye.

The vast majority of caterpillars are not the prettiest however, there are some magnificently beautiful and exotic caterpillars, which we will discuss in later. This does not mean the exotic caterpillar will have more beauty as a butterfly than one that is simply plain when it’s transformation is complete. That is a product of God’s design just like it is in us. God designed for us to all be beautiful butterflies but we must allow that which is on the inside to work its way out in the same way that Paul says, “work out your own salvation…” This means to work that which is on the inside to the outside. That is what happens with the caterpillar. While in the cocoon, it is working that which is on the inside of the caterpillar to the outside for all to see. It is changing from a slow crawling insect into a beautiful winged butterfly that can travel great distances in a short span of time.

There is something about the cocoon part that is interesting and needs to be mentioned. If you were to help a butterfly get out of its cocoon you will more than likely doom that butterfly to be weak and never be able to enjoy being fully developed. By helping the butterfly get out too soon, you wind up cutting short the time needed for a chemical to be fully released into the wings to help them strengthen and grow while getting out of the chrysalis (cocoon). The movement of the butterfly while in the chrysalis pumps this fluid into the wings and helps those wings to grow and expand. If you cut this timing short, you doom the butterfly to being underdeveloped with weak wings. Turns out, the struggle is part of the development process.

And so, it is with us. The struggles we encounter and the obstacles we face, help make us stronger when we respond correctly. With each encounter, with each obstacle, when our responses are correct, our faith is well placed, and when we have an optimistic attitude, all will eventually work to our good. But the struggle is a necessary part of our growth. It is to help make us stronger.

Getting back to the few magnificent and exotic caterpillars, they are often larger, prettier, more enjoyable to look at, BUT they still crawl. They are still no faster than the other plain ones. They may appear to have more going for them, but they don’t. That is the same with some of us in the human race. There are many that appear to have it all together however, those seeming to have it altogether are no better off than the simple and plain ones if they will apply themselves and get busy going through the transformation process and becoming the butterfly that lies dormant within.

What happens to those that are seemingly elite and beautiful, that wind up being picked or chosen for fame or stardom by ‘users’ before they are ready to come out of the cocoon? Well, some well-intentioned agent, producer, or promoter (user) comes along during the cocoon process having noticed how beautiful or talented this person may be. This person who is supposed to be helping them actually comes along to soon and releases them from their cocoon to early? When this happens what you see more often than not is implosion.

You see someone whose life begins to crumble and fall apart. Mike Tyson, Kim Basinger, Nicholas Cage, Stephen Baldwin, Floyd Mayweather Jr., 50 Cent, MC Hammer, Dennis Rodman, Vanilla Ice, Toni Braxton filed bankruptcy twice, David Cassidy, Lindsay Lohan and many more. These were butterflies that wound up having someone see their talent and helped them get out of their cocoon previous to them being seasoned enough to handle the celebrity and success. Eventually, that success and celebrity overtook and defeated them. They were not allowed to remain in the cocoon for the time necessary to become strong enough to handle the successes. Like the butterfly, they are weakened by being taken out of the cocoon too soon and wind up failing in most cases.

Jim Carrey said he has always been grateful he did not make it early on in his career for had he not been forced to wait and mature, he believes he would have wound up being another celebrity casualty like many before him. The time one spends in the cocoon of development previous to becoming a success is important to helping them be able to handle the levels of success for which they were meant to achieve. This happens by you transforming your life through the belief and confession that all will work to your good. It is the belief that you can be transformed by the renewing of your thinking mind. Like Solomon said, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” So, you transform from believing you are not the tail, to believing you are the head. From believing you are not beneath, to believing you are above. From believing you are not the borrower, to believing you are the lender.

Best of LUCK as you
Labor Under Correct Knowledge…

Respectfully,

Rick Cox