Metamorphosis

Human nature will never change, but there are seeds of divinity within each of us that will transform our lives if we allow them to take root.

We are creatures of habit, and more often than not momentum carries us forward from one day to the next. Newton's first law of motion could apply to people as easily as it applies to objects: objects in motion tend to stay in motion, and objects at rest tend to stay at rest. However, everything changes when those objects are acted upon by another force.

There are many "forces" at work helping us to grow and change. Some transform us from the outside in, such as when we give in to peer pressure or feel compelled by cultural or societal influences to act a certain way. But the best and most permanent changes start in our hearts and slowly work their way outward to reshape the way we see ourselves and interact with others.

I have experienced many "defining moments" in my life. One such experience occurred when I was a teenager. I had a great life, a loving family and a bright future, but for some reason I felt like the world owed me a lot more than it was giving me. I had a chip on my shoulder, dressed in black, listened to depressing music and was a lot angrier than someone in my circumstances should have been. When the world gave me crap, I gave it right back ... and then some. One day I was offended by someone who, I recognize in hindsight, was merely making a reasonable request. I began to plan my revenge, but then that person surprised me with a small act of kindness. I still can't say exactly why, but his generosity--thrown into sharp relief by the harm I was about to do to him--completely changed the way I looked at the world. That day I decided that instead of tearing others down, I would try to lift them up. My life has been better ever since.

Another "defining moment" began when I suffered a career setback and found myself experiencing a crisis of identity. I started searching for happiness in the form of a "cause" or a "mission," and found myself looking in all the wrong places to discover the truth about who I was. After a year or two I gave up the search, abandoned most of the extracurricular activities I had become involved in and slowly brought my life back into balance. Only then could I see what had been in front of me all along. I discovered that happiness begins in the home, and that relationships are more important than workplace success. With the help of a good friend I began to remember what mattered to me when I was younger, and I saw patterns in my life that showed me who I was and who I had always been. It was a miracle, and I will never again question my purpose in this world. I wrote a poem called "Metamorphosis" about this voyage of self-discovery:

You told me who I was,
but I didn't believe.
You persisted, but I resisted.

You refused to give up,
and gradually
I let down my defenses.

Then, like a butterfly
emerging from a cocoon,
I began to spread my wings.

I was the same
as I had always been,
but I saw with new eyes.

It was a metamorphosis
of the heart,
and now I believe.