The Immumed Butterfly
An ant on the move accomplishes more than a sleeping ox
Lao-Tsu (500 B.C- 400 B.C)
Once upon a time, I, Zhuangzi dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering here and there. I was to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, totally unaware that I was Zhuangzi. Soon I awakened, and there I was myself again. Now I do not know whether I was a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am a butterfly dreaming I am a man.
Zhuangzi 369 BC- 286
Taoist philosopher
The butterfly is a beautiful and delicate creature, symbol of the end stage of a complex transformation which begins as an egg – (symbol of innocence, of creativity, of unlimited potential) hatching out into a hungry little caterpillar, symbol of youth with its voracious appetite for life and new experiences, eating its way through the best and often the worst that life has to offer, leaving behind a wasteland of ill health, stress, pain, unhappiness an frequently despair. Salvation comes with the cocoon, the chrysalis of maturation, wisdom, the reflection of a life lived, of the follies and excesses of youth and a return to the solid values of life “health for life” with the magnificent butterfly, symbol of a new beginning, a new awareness, a new cycle of life.
The butterfly is also representative of the Chaos Theory, also known as the “Butterfly Effect” described in science, on how very small changes to seemly unrelated conditions can create very significant changes in extremely complex systems. It is a well-known fact in medicine that very small doses of toxic substances or even unresolved past emotional issues, can eventually lead to life threatening illness. Conversely small, accurately well targeted interventions in acupuncture, homeopathy, osteopathy or herbal medicine can create a cascade that in many cases can dramatically stop a disease process and return a patient back to health.
