Love and Transformation

I was picking through my garden a couple of weeks ago and I came a across a massacre of sorts. A plant of mine had been eaten alive by something and was barely a shell of its former self. All the flowers and most of the leaves were completely eaten through and all that remained were the large base stalks. Digging into the poor guy I found the weirdest looking bug I’d ever seen. It can only be described as a rhino with six legs. Thing was creepy looking and I knew right away it was the culprit as I could see remnants of plant juices all over the bugs face. Lucky for me and the plant it was really healthy before that hideous creature arrived on the scene. Scorched earth went through my mind for a second but rhino bug didn’t really seem too interested in much else besides that one plant so I cut it back and as per my motto I let nature tell me what balance is not the other way around. Fast forward to a couple days ago and I’m back to the plant and it seems to be recovering just fine. Again my patience in the garden pays off. After some thorough back slapping I go to spray the whole nine yards down and when I do a bunch of the most beautiful moths I’ve ever seen come pouring out of this plant. Brown with maroon, and green heads they shimmer like butterflies as they flee the water barrage I’ve unleashed. I was amazed by the speed of their transformation from hapless garden slug like creatures to magnificent, gracefully flying works of art.

Life rarely shows you a literal proverb, and this is one of them and I thought I’d share it with all of you. For everyone that seeks love, and is lucky enough to attain their version of it, possibly a more difficult time lies ahead in the transformation that happens after the love. Love for its greatness and allure is a process just like anything else, and in many cases a painful one. Legit selfless love will always pull through, and on the other side when you emerge you’ll be unrecognizable. Think about the time/energy spent on love. Its discussion alone is enough yammering to keep anyone awake at night considering its implications. The metaphor runs deep when we consider the insect. When we begin our transformation we first gorge and immerse ourselves in it fully, a 24/7 marathon of heightened senses, awareness, and an unending desire to be among that love. Then we slip into a deep hibernation of analysis and contemplation about what this means in the larger picture of our lives. We plan to “love” for the rest of our lives, or on the darker side of love we may decide that we cannot ever be without this particular type of love and grow deeply attached to it. Finally after the dust settles and we’ve formed our bond with love we emerge able to go places and see things we’d never dreamed of being able to see or do before. Suddenly the world is bigger and the process is given its due praise.

I write this article not to guide anyone through this process it’s your process, nothing I can say or do is going to help you get through it. I’m pleading for people to consider this transformation on a larger scale, not outside you, but within yourself. If you have someone you’re in love with I’m sure you can attest to how that person makes you a better person, and that relationship makes your life better (or at least less shitty). Life and love keep unfolding and progressing and it’s when we think we’re finished is when we fail ourselves and the rest of our brethren. Why is it a person can be willing to die for the person in their apartment with them, but could give a shit less if the person in the next apartment over dies? How is it we can favor our life (humans) to the outright detriment of most other types of life on the planet? My answer is because people think they’re finished loving, you got a spouse, kids, close family, select friends, pets, and the rest of the world can fuck right off.

What can I say other people are fucken lame I know that! They’re not like you and they like shit you don’t like. They often live lifestyles you appall, and to make things worse they bring that shit into your life. I understand it can appear to be a pain in the ass to love other life forms besides the ones that return the favor fairly often; Karma can frustrate the best of us with its ability to never seem to arrive in a timely matter. If you can’t love other people for the right reasons then simply accept the challenge with a small side of faith that many have benefitted from it in the past and with any luck so can you. The path to being a more loving person and having more love in your life is not going to be easy at first and it’s safe to say the present holds no knowledge of the future. Some wrongs will have to be righted, guilt, and shame of the past may exist, but eventually the new you will emerge. That new you will be open to new people, to new experiences, and best of all the rest of the living world will be more open to you too.