In these times of dramatic social change and collapsing structures, it can be easy to succumb to feelings of fear and hopelessness. The work of ethnobiologist Elisabet Sathouris provides a beautiful framework and powerful context for our times.
Sathouris spent years studying the transformational process of caterpillar into butterfly, uncovering what she named imaginal cells. Because these contain the DNA of the butterfly, which is slightly different than that of the caterpillar, the immune system of the latter views them as foreign objects and destroys them, the same way it would a virus or bacterium. Similarly, we could say that humanity has done the same to our prophets, light-carriers and truth-speakers–the Jesuses, Gandhis and Dr. Kings: they pop up and we shoot them down.
At some point in the life cycle of the caterpillar, an internal mechanism is triggered and it goes into a hyper-eating phase, engorging itself, eating everything around. In a way, humanity is doing the same, carelessly devouring our natural resources without regard even to our own survival on this planet.
There’s an upside, however. In the case of the caterpillar, the hyper-eating phase also triggers a hyper-production of imaginal cells. Suddenly, these are popping everywhere, and they start gravitating toward each other, coalescing into imaginal clusters. Once they come together, the immune system of the caterpillar can no longer destroy them. It tries and tries until it fails, giving up, imploding into a mush, a nutrient soup that is what the imaginal cells feed on as they transform into the butterfly.
One could say that is where humanity is now. Systems are failing all around us, disintegrating in front of our eyes. A global economic collapse remains a real and imminent possibility. The corporate scandals and church scandals have revealed the man behind the curtain.
We are the imaginal cells, awakening now to our full potential, no longer willing to live lives of frustration, lies and mediocrity, or to hide our light under a bushel. Once we find each other and come together, we can no longer be destroyed.
What exquisite butterfly humanity transforms into — and whether we survive the metamorphosis — is yet to be seen. For the wakening imaginal cells, the call has gone out: to shine, to be more than we have ever been before, yes even more than we can now imagine,, to heal ourselves and become beacons for other imaginal cells, to come together d discover what we may do together that we can’t do isolated and alone.
The mission is clear. Will you answer the call?
At some point in the life cycle of the caterpillar, an internal mechanism is triggered and it goes into a hyper-eating phase, engorging itself, eating everything around. In a way, humanity is doing the same, carelessly devouring our natural resources without regard even to our own survival on this planet.
There’s an upside, however. In the case of the caterpillar, the hyper-eating phase also triggers a hyper-production of imaginal cells. Suddenly, these are popping everywhere, and they start gravitating toward each other, coalescing into imaginal clusters. Once they come together, the immune system of the caterpillar can no longer destroy them. It tries and tries until it fails, giving up, imploding into a mush, a nutrient soup that is what the imaginal cells feed on as they transform into the butterfly.
One could say that is where humanity is now. Systems are failing all around us, disintegrating in front of our eyes. A global economic collapse remains a real and imminent possibility. The corporate scandals and church scandals have revealed the man behind the curtain.
We are the imaginal cells, awakening now to our full potential, no longer willing to live lives of frustration, lies and mediocrity, or to hide our light under a bushel. Once we find each other and come together, we can no longer be destroyed.
What exquisite butterfly humanity transforms into — and whether we survive the metamorphosis — is yet to be seen. For the wakening imaginal cells, the call has gone out: to shine, to be more than we have ever been before, yes even more than we can now imagine,, to heal ourselves and become beacons for other imaginal cells, to come together d discover what we may do together that we can’t do isolated and alone.
The mission is clear. Will you answer the call?
One could say that is where humanity is now. Systems are failing all around us, disintegrating in front of our eyes. A global economic collapse remains a real and imminent possibility. The corporate scandals and church scandals have revealed the man behind the curtain.
We are the imaginal cells, awakening now to our full potential, no longer willing to live lives of frustration, lies and mediocrity, or to hide our light under a bushel. Once we find each other and come together, we can no longer be destroyed.
What exquisite butterfly humanity transforms into — and whether we survive the metamorphosis — is yet to be seen. For the wakening imaginal cells, the call has gone out: to shine, to be more than we have ever been before, yes even more than we can now imagine,, to heal ourselves and become beacons for other imaginal cells, to come together d discover what we may do together that we can’t do isolated and alone.
The mission is clear. Will you answer the call?
