en(light.)ened

 I had an English teacher in early high school that had fun methods to teach us about literature. She had us do an analysis of a song of our choice (asking 15 year-olds this in 1999, is hilarious in hind-sight) and then we needed to identify metaphors, similes, double meanings, symbolism and so forth, and then present an oral to the class.  I crashed and burned a little with this assignment, because in an attempt to be cool I chose a song from The Smashing Pumpkins; it was not a very deep and complex piece of writing (I'm still a fan of the Pumpkins, don't get me wrong. Mellon Collie is still a favourite album.) but this song was just "what"? The exercise did, however, cement in me the need to listen to lyrics on another level. For all songs thenceforth. I even attach to songs emotionally as a result, often subconsciously.  A previous post explained the process of being in a cocoon at the moment. At the time of typing there are 12 calendar days left in this cocoon per...

 Transition. Change. New things. Some people love the process of change, some detest it.  I can go either way on the subject - change is good, inevitable. I do find I get very impatient though, but I'm typically happy once it's settle into the 'new'. Much like the larvae in the cocoon, a big life change can be entirely life-altering. You go into the situation - moving house, changing jobs, a new relationship - hopeful and excited, but you know this will wane over time. The hope is it that it takes longer than just a few weeks or a few days.  What happens inside a butterfly's chrysalis is both gross and mesmerising. The entire caterpillar "melts" and becomes re-assembled - no only re-born, re-assembled as various cells en up in different places to when it was a caterpillar. This is a pure miracle. And we're subject to the same - we can completely re-start ourselves. (Don't try to melt, you're not actually  a caterpillar). This transition period ...