Chasing Butterflies...

“ Make peace with your broken pieces.”

- r.h. Sin.

Adversity can make it difficult to see things in a positive light. It can cause anger, frustration and sadness. It can make you feel as though your dignity is being stripped. These are the emotions that I have been wrestling with for quite some time now. However, as much as my recent experiences have challenged me physically, mentally and spiritually, they have also been a gift in the sense that they have allowed me to appreciate life on a deeper level than I ever have before.

As I sit down to write this, I am thinking back to an experience I had earlier last week, while working at the out of school program. I chased butterflies with a little girl all afternoon. E was running wildly through the long blades of grass with a fuzzy pink backpack on her shoulders and a small plastic container fixated in her right hand, ready to catch the next butterfly she saw. This image will never fade from my memory. It symbolized something very important.

As I have mentioned before, butterflies have always held a special significance for me. Whenever I have been faced with extreme adversity in my life, I have seen butterflies for some unknown reason. I have always felt as though freedom was something that I had to chase. One of the ways I have found freedom in my life is through the realization that even though the distorted communication between my body and my brain, and the pain from muscle spasms have left me feeling trapped, inside of my soul I am always free and dancing. Living life in the moment is how I find freedom, because it allows me to temporarily forget about my struggles.

• A vibrant sunset sinking down behind a backdrop of mountains.

• The spontaneous decision to spin around in a circle on the pavement with my best friend to our favourite song.

• The opportunity to chase butterflies in the schoolyard with one of the children I work with at the out of school care program.

There is beauty all around us. It is during moments like these where a feeling of peace comes over me, and I am reminded that no matter what life throws at me, everything will be okay.