2020 – the year of the dragonfly
In almost every part of the world, the dragonfly symbolizes change, transformation, adaptability, and self-realization.
For the past three years, I have been fortunate enough to be able to take a week(ish) long white-water rafting trip with some friends, and some strangers. Some of those strangers I’m proud to say are now good friends of mine. In the first year (2019) we rafted the Middle Fork of the Salmon, in the second year (2020) we rafted the Main of the Payette and in the third year (2021) we rafted Hells Canyon. All three were life-changing trips. All three were spectacular in their own ways. I highly encourage you to take a multi-day rafting trip. There is truly something magical and special about being on the river in the middle of nowhere, taking it all in, and enjoying the magnificent countryside. The fresh mountain air, the stillness, the calmness, the beauty, it is just spectacular. You can’t even begin to describe it, it’s a feeling you must experience to appreciate.
2020 was one of the biggest years of transformation and self-realization that I have ever experienced. During 2020 I faced some demons, literally in the spirit world and back in the real world. Back in the real world, everything from crazy ex’s to my purpose in life. I was all over the place. I faced those issues and decided I needed to change and do something about them. The old me was dead and the new me was just beginning. This transformation had a lot to do with my trip to Mexico and finding my faith again. Those two combined gave me the opportunity to really take a step back from myself and pinpoint some very specific issues. I went through a lot of ups and downs, learned a lot (still am), and began to change in the process, all for the better. This is my story of the dragonfly.
In 2020 while rafting down the Payette, I encountered a lot of dragonflies. It wasn’t so much surprising as it just caught my attention. They would fly all around us, land on the boat, land on my hat, and life jacket, and some, well some even decided to do the dragonfly dance on my leg. It seemed they would follow us the entire day while rafting and then disappear when we beached for the evening. Their ability to zoom across the water at lighting speeds was mesmerizing, they played a game of cat and mouse with each other. It happened enough times throughout the trip that when I finally got service, I decided to research what the meaning of a dragonfly was. As you read above a dragonfly, symbolize’s change, transformation, adaptability, and self-realization. The dragonfly’s scurrying flight across the water was more than just a game it represents an act of going beyond what’s on the surface and looking into the deeper implications and aspects of life. That change is often referred to as mental and emotional maturity and understanding the deeper meaning of life. If we are brave enough to peel back a layer and dive just under the surface, we might just find a buried treasure. At first, we might be discouraged by the treasure found because we have yet to really see what that treasure looks like. Keep looking. In that exact moment, if you can switch your mindset from disappointment and confusion, you will realize something else, something beautiful. An opportunity to grow, to change, to remold oneself in the image you desire. By not focusing on the darkness, we begin to see the light. Where there are cracks, there is a chance for transformation, healing, for change. Instead of replacing the old and broken with the same train of thought, the same way you have always been transforming those cracks into something new, something beautiful. Something that says I have been broken but am now whole and in this new image stronger and more beautiful than ever.
In Japan around the 15th century, Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa once broke his favorite Chinese tea bowl. He then sent it back to China to have it repaired, but it was sent back sutured with displeasing staples. Although he could still use it, the shogun was disappointed. Shogun asked a craftsman to find a more elegant solution. When the tea bowl was returned to the shogun, there were streaks of gold running through it, telling its story, and—the warrior thought—adding to its value and beauty.
Kintsugi is a way of thinking, a way of life. The Japanese call it wabi-sabi.
Now say that out loud, three times! WABI-SABI. Feels good, doesn’t it?!
I get excited when I find new cracks in myself. We, humans, are fragile creatures, and sometimes we break, and that’s ok. It has taken a long time to get here and a lot of life lessons to be learned, mostly the hard way, and sometimes physically, mentally, or emotionally hurt at that moment, but I know when I pull myself out of that dark place, there is room for growth, understanding, wisdom, and self-knowledge. This is beautiful. Kintsugi is the Japanese philosophy that the value of an object is not in its beauty, but in its imperfections, and that these imperfections are something to celebrate, not hide. Let’s begin to celebrate our imperfections.
2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me”
Transformation is beautiful. We must not, we cannot remain the same our entire life. To be stagnant is to drown, only dead fish follow the current. The world keeps turning and our days keep getting shorter and shorter. We must become. Who are you becoming? Become the best version of yourself by transforming through self-realization.
Sometimes in life, God shows us, encourages us, and gives us exactly what we need, when we need it. We must be able to see it in those moments. Most of the time we only see and hear what we want. If we have enough self-control to take a step back and see life with a new perspective, a new light, then we might be able to see what He is showing us. If anything, we will gain more wisdom and understanding about the present situation.
Have you ever felt like life just keeps pulling you down? One step forward, two steps back? Do you constantly feel like you are in a battle and gaining no ground? I’ve been there a few times; I even felt the devil had his hooks in me for a period of time. It felt like I was making no progress at all and still stuck in the same vortex of a toxic tornado. But when that dragonfly landed on my leg life seemed to slow down just enough that I could take a second and be in that moment and realize that it wasn’t one step forward two back, it’s been three forward and one back. We just tend of focus on that one step back more than the three forward. That the light has been shining in the dark and that I am in control of my destiny. That no matter how little positive gain I make it is still positive and still in the right direction. That my growth is a lifelong process, and it isn’t linear. It’s a prism, full of color and direction, constantly changing and ever so bright. We are all along for this midnight rodeo called life. Bucking us here and there, throwing wrenches in the gears, kicking us when we are down, but these are all good things. In every situation we can learn a lesson, we can take a positive away from it no matter how dark and draining it might be. In these very moments, we take back the power, and we are becoming.
I am becoming….
Who are you becoming?
#intrepidlife
Fish
Fishtales 