Why The Title Blackbutterfly7 Was Chosen
Wednesday, I shared with a new friend how this blog came to be named “blackbutterfly.” She suggested that I post the story behind it. The following is the entire story.
In the Bible, 2 Corinthians chapter 3 speaks of the ministry of death through the letter, and the ministry of life through the spirit. The ministry of life is not written on stone, but on hearts and in minds. Verse 17 speaks of liberty/freedom, and verse 18 speaks of changing from glory to glory into the same image as God’s spirit. That word interpreted “change” in verse 18 is the Greek word metamorphoo. It is the origin of the word “metamorphosis.”
My appreciation for butterflies increased when learning that. Butterflies go through metamorphosis. I live in an area where black butterflies that look like velvet appear during the summer. Some have orange on their wings. Others have white on their wings. When I think of butterflies, I think how they are used in songs. Elton John, in the song “Someone saved my life tonight” refers to the woman he decided not to marry as a butterfly, free to fly. Then there is Deniece Williams who sings “Black butterfly.”
Around May or June 2012, I met Mindyme and Jim in the comment sections of Yahoo articles. We wanted one place to save articles, links, and material regarding the George Zimmerman case. I opened a Yahoo Group for that purpose, but the titles “butterfly” and “blackbutterfly” were taken. Yahoo made some automatic suggestions, but I chose to add the numbers 768. Seven is the number of completion. Six is the number of man, and eight is the number of new beginnings. Butterflies are symbolic of change, transition, freedom and rebirth. The numbers seemed appropriate.
Yahoo made changes to the size of documents that could be uploaded to its group. We discussed opening a blog, and decided to use the name “Blackbutterfly.” On Word Press, that title was taken, so the “7” was added to the name and thus, Blackbutterfly7 was born on Word Press.
In the introduction of the book “Letters From The Cocoon”, Monica Ewing talks about the life cycle of egg to caterpillar to butterfly, and the importance of metamorphosis, describing it as a “rite of passage.” The lyrics to Black Butterfly by Denise Williams tells of the rite of passage as the butterfly emerges from the cocoon;
“Morning light, silken dream to flight
As the darkness gave way to the dawn
You’ve survived, now your moment has arrived
Now your dream has finally been born.”
As the song continues, the lyrics say “a dream conceived in truth can never die.”
It’s a song of inspiration.
Until several months ago, the tagline for this blog was “strength through struggle.” People from all walks of life encounter struggle. In an interview, Deniece Williams told how the story of the struggle of the butterfly caused her to want to record the song Black Butterfly.
In the story, a little boy saw a cocoon and told his dad that it was moving. There was a butterfly inside. The little boy watched and waited; watched and waited. Finally, a small hole appeared in the cocoon. After several hours, it did not look as though the butterfly was going to make it out. The little boy ran into the house and got a pair of scissors that he used to cut a bigger opening in the cocoon. The butterfly was released, but its body was large and its wings small. It could not fly.
The little boy got his dad to come see, and his dad explained that in the struggle to break free from the cocoon, the butterfly’s body becomes smaller and its wings become larger. By cutting open the cocoon, the butterfly did not gain the strength it needed to fly, and would crawl for the rest of its life.
The moral of the story is that as we go through personal struggles, and without taking shortcuts, we become stronger. There’s a popular saying that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.
How does this coincide with helping others? Like the caterpillar going through transition, we can help by making sure the environment is safe. Take for example a friend or family member going through treatment for cancer. We can help them in many ways; giving rides, preparing food, cleaning their house, being a shoulder and ear for them. What we cannot do is undergo chemo for them. They have to go through the treatment themselves.
When we find ourselves in situations that require a cocooning period, unless we go through it, we cannot appreciate the freedom that comes from the struggle. We can take things and people for granted, and never go through the transformation where we learn about and change ourselves from within. Like the caterpillar, we will only be able to see things from a certain level, never transforming to see from a different or higher perspective.
Here’s the song that I love so much.
Posted on 09/25/2015, in Happy Place, Potpourri and tagged blackbutterfly7, song, the butterfly story. Bookmark the permalink. 36 Comments.
Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
Amazing story ….. Loved all of it. Thanks for sharing!
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Hey Horty! Thanks so much for the reblog, dear friend.
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Hi there, sweet friend …. tight hugs!! ❤
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Xena,
What a joy for me to start the day by reading your words of inspiration here today!
How profoundly you introduced the butterfly’s story of metamorphosis to us by speaking of “The ministry of life is not written on stone, but on hearts and in minds.” And, that, in 2 Corinthians Chapter 3:
Thanks for posting the video Ms. William’s performance of “Blackbutterfly”. I love the hopeful and liberating lyrics of the song. 🙂
Isn’t it interesting that the caterpillar readies itself for the struggle by feeding on plants whose whole existence is dependent upon the sunlight? Makes me think allegorically that we can be in readiness for the struggle by feeding upon and integrating wisdoms whose source is the Light of love and truth.
I have always liked this spiritual advice:
It really IS important what an individual “brings” to the struggle.
I like what James Lawson “brought along” to the struggle of resisting oppression, injustice, and inequality. He discusses this nonviolent resistance struggle in the 3 minute video I will post here:
Special words of wisdom at timestamp 2:57 to 3:40 —>
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Yahtzee,
What a revelation;
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Thank you for sharing this, and for being a good online friend in a mutual search for ways to share the good in a world filled with brutality.
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Hey Mark! Thanks so much for your kind words, and also for being a good online friend. You are one who stands shoulder to shoulder continuing to search and share for the good, and I appreciate that.
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Xena, I don’t know how you do it, but it seems that every time I reach a low point in my life you manage to write something to lift me up and out of the bottom less pit of despair and disgust. Thanks from the very depth of my heart, friends like you are rare in this world…
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Mothman,
We never know when we are sharing something at a time when it’s needed by someone else, do we? Maybe it’s because the one Spirit that dwells in us knows. I’m happy you were lifted.
Thanks so much for your kind words, and thanks for being a friend.
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Mothman,
This is for you.
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Xena, Thank you! I love it! 🙂
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You are a blessed soul my friend! Great and amazing story!
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Hey Juan!
Thanks so much for your kind words. I’m enjoying your blog, but the stories about Toonces being out at night give me a scare. That is one brave cat. 🙂
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You and me both…
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Kerygma is Greek word that some define as ‘preaching’ others ‘truth’ and you’ve managed to capture both in this post. Thank you for making the time to write it up.
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Hey Lurking!
Thanks so much for your kind words. This morning, a Monarch butterfly came to my kitchen window. I took a picture and am working on getting it so I can post it here.
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Beautiful, simply beautiful. Insightful. Thanks for sharing. Love it
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Hey Virgobeauty! Thanks for your kind words and taking time to share them. (((Hugs)))
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My pleasure. Bear hugging you back
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I just came across this artwork and love it!
I would like to try to be more still and more open to spiritual possibilities.
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Yahtzee,
Be encouraged. Be lifted. We have those eating days, cocoon days, breaking free days, and flying days. Some days, all of it might happen in hours. That is when I wish my wings could carry me to Hawaii. 🙂
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Xena, you are a blessing.
Oh, Hawaii? Let’s go! 🙂
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LOL! Hawaii has been calling my name for several years now.
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That is one of my fave songs! I always assumed you named your blog after it 🙂
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Hey Eurobrat. In a round about way, yes. The lyrics are powerful, and the story behind it is also.
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This is off-topic, but I had not heard this before today while watching Pope Francis coverage on TV, and it really and truly blew me away! I think it might impact many of you, too.
There’s an amazing relic in the 9/11 museum, which they call a “Bible fused to steel,” and that is what it looks like. The Bible is essentially destroyed and embedded in a hunk of steel or rock, but – unimaginably – it is opened to the verses in Matthew 5:38-44, which are mostly legible. Astonishingly, it displays this language:
OMG!! I feel like this was a message delivered to us directly from God, himself, after the unfathomable evil that struck us on 9/11.
Here’s a link to a photo (and you can learn more about it if you Google “bible fused to steel”) – I hope this weird link works:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2015/09/25/us/25pope-bible/25pope-bible-facebookJumbo.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nytimes.com/live/pope-visit-2015/an-enduring-message-of-forgiveness/&h=550&w=1050&tbnid=CS4GLeB7lSN7WM:&docid=NrEg5SXQONYKUM&ei=hQoGVq_3Msz0-AH0tK3gBg&tbm=isch&ved=0CCAQMygCMAJqFQoTCO_NwvDak8gCFUw6PgoddFoLbA
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Hey Annie! It’s good seeing your fonts. (Missed you)
Thanks so much for sharing this. Powerful. What a miracle that the Bible would be fused like that.
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Good morning, Annie.
I agree with you that that Bible open to those verses and fused to metal from 9/11 is a direct Heavenly message.
The person who was handed that Bible by a fireman working the scene and who gave it to the 911 memorial said
One does have to consider what happens to the heart of an individual who engages in “pay back” and fighting by adopting the same violence as the perpetrator:
(foreshadowing of what Anakin was to become)
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I love how the artist in this painting conveyed the “energy” present with the pink lines and with the circular rainbow around the butterfly:
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That’s a gorgeous picture.
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Yes, so gorgeous!
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Mindy and Xena,
🙂 I just found two more wonderful artworks tonight:
https://d1wh43egtz3cgo.cloudfront.net/promotion_images/0648/4024/original/1527128_806534972696821_1309887689_n.jpg?1395790773
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Wow! The picture displayed here, with the butterfly bursting from the flower-cradled globe is, well …
SOOOOO Xena!!!
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Wow! I love the story behind the name of your blog 🙂
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Hey Gwenice and welcome to Blackbutterfly7. Thanks so much for your nice comment.
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