Resurection, transformation, young love and the soul

As I was cleaning up today (finally..... I'm admittedly domestically challenged) I went out on my patio to shake out a rug and saw this:

As a child, I LOVED Monarch butterflies.  I used to draw pictures of them, sing songs about them, catch them and keep them in jars (for a little while), the whole nine.  I'm originally from Missouri and used to see them all the time when I lived there, probably because milkweed was abundant in the area where I lived.  Since I moved here almost 20 years ago, I've probably seen less than five, and I'm sure some of those were at the butterfly exhibit at the botanical gardens.

So imagine my utter surprise and joy to see this little guy on MY patio, of all places.  I'm sure it's due to the changing seasons and the Monarch migration south.....Monarch butterflies are the only insect that can fly 2,500 miles to a warmer climate. Their unique wing structure and yearly life cycle makes it possible for the fall generation monarchs to travel thousands of miles to the warm nesting grounds of Mexico. [end nerd moment]

Despite the logical explanation for this butterfly being on my patio, I still believe that we are given signs and omens, and I took this as such (yea, I'm kinda New Age-ish; I read horoscopes and pay attention to signs, but loosely.... I take note of coincidences and let them guide, not direct, my actions).  Off hand I didn't know exactly what it meant, so, being the nerd that I am, I did a little research. This is what I found:

The Butterfly is a universal symbol of change, resurrection, transformation, celebration, young love and the soul.

As a symbol of transformation; the butterfly represents everlasting life, stemming from it's various stages of life.

1. Birth (the caterpillar),
2. Death (the chrysalis), and finally,
3. Resurrection (the butterfly).

In some myths, the Butterfly brings sleep and dreams. In others, it is symbolic of female fertility and is thought to be the bringer of children. The butterfly also represents love and relationships.

Ah yes..... so, so very fitting right now.  I am in the midst of tremendous change, both externally and, more importantly, internally.  It's the whole reason I set fire to got rid of my old blog and Twitter account.  So many things in my life are shifting and in flux. I think the Most High is letting me know that things will be ok, that change is definitely in the works, and that change, like the amazing transformation and travels of the Monarch butterfly, is going to be miraculous...... but also long.  It's like traveling from Washington D.C. to Las Vegas..... that would be a sucky trip in a car, let alone on 4" paper thin wings with birds swooping out of the sky to eat you and a rainstorm wiping out your entire family (I watched a documentary on this not to long ago actually..... it was kind of sad).  Anyway, back to my point. A friend of mine told me I needed to purge, and that's what I've been doing.  Purging people, purging attitudes, purging feelings, just trying to get (back?) to me as I know that I TRULY am. 

As far as the love and relationships thing..... well, I'm just going to be still on that.  I'm turning that one over to the Most High and focusing on what I can control at the moment, and fixing what I can.  We'll see where it all goes from there.