Coincidence or not? The story of the butterflies

Earlier this month I bought some caterpillars from Insect Lore so we could watch them develop into painted lady butterflies. It’s a simple easy process and a good learning experiment for my son, as he could learn about the metamorphosis of butterflies. I had the cup of caterpillars & their tent on our kitchen table however after several days my two cats discovered these cute crawling little caged up creatures and proceeded to knock the whole thing on the floor. Though I would put it back on the kitchen table, it would end up on the floor the following day, so I finally moved it into a bathroom and closed the door, safe from the kitties. However, of the five caterpillars we had, three of them were now upside down totally appearing dead. They never crawled to the top of the cup to hang and do their thing; they just stayed upside down. Dang cats I thought, they killed these poor caterpillars …. So I proceeded to buy two more cups so my kid could really enjoy seeing the transition.

As the days went by, I noticed the “dead” caterpillars on the bottom of the cup, did transition into cocoons. I guess they weren’t dead after all, and as the week went on, eventually all five cocoons opened up and we had five painted lady butterflies. We fed them oranges and sugar water for a few days, and then we let them go free, and yes, two of them climbed out of the cage onto my son’s hand and stayed there for a minute or so before flying off into the great big world.

Of the twelve new caterpillars that I got (which stayed safe in our bathroom away from the cats), all of them became beautiful butterflies.

So, what does this have to do with chiropractic? A few things ….

1) Never give up. I just assumed those caterpillars were dead, as they had not moved in a few days. How many people and animals do we give up on? How many animals to we “put down” because they aren’t doing well? That reminds me of a dog I adjusted this month whose owner was ready to let him go; yet adjustments helped him regain his mobility and his life. Hmm…something to think about.

 2) Whether they appeared to be dead or not, these creatures have that innate intelligence that allows them to transition into a cocoon and then a butterfly. It’s pretty amazing. They don’t take medicine, no one tells them what to do, it just happens. It’s one of those miracles that we all tend to take for granted. And it’s cool to see.

Just like a child being created from a sperm & an egg, or your heart beating, or your liver working; they have that incredible intelligence within that allows those things to happen. No one tells your body what to do. It just happens. It’s your brain & spinal cord doing the “telling”. As chiropractors, we need to make sure that part is working well.  Too often we overlook when things go wrong, and turn to drugs and surgery to “fix” something. Maybe that’s not always the answer (well if you know me, I know that’s not always the answer).

Respecting your body, treating it well, feeding it proper nutrition, getting sleep and getting adjusted are huge keys in staying healthy. As chiropractors we work to make sure the brain & spinal cord are “telling” the body what to do, and if there is obstruction in that communication process, then that is what/when we adjust. It’s a fairly simple concept that so many people do not understand and overlook.

As for the butterflies, they are moving on. It’s been fun to see them grow and change and evolve into something beautiful.  I wonder why I chose this month to buy butterflies. Why didn’t I buy them in April or June? Is it a sign of something else that has grown and changed and evolved and is moving on? I don’t believe in coincidences, I think things happen for a reason and buying butterflies this month just happens to coincide with something else that has happened this month that is also grown and moving on. It’s kinda bizarre that it all happened in the same month, unplanned. But maybe I’m just reading into it too much. Who knows. But if you want to know what that is all about, with what else has grown and is moving on … then ask me sometime. 🙂