I Am a Milkweed Plant

Today I am inspired to continue my butterfly journey.

This last generation suffered so many losses I was ready to call it quits, to shut down the sanctuary.  Why am I even raising butterflies and writing about it?

There’s much that can be said here about perseverance and failure. I understand these lessons and will not give up so easily.  Milkweed plants are sprouting new leaves as I write this.  The process will continue with or without me.  What’s difficult to regain is the attitude, showing up and providing the same love and care as previous generations. The magic is lost if the care of butterflies becomes rote and if the enthusiasm, delight and wonder is gone.  But the response of the people with whom I have shared this experience has inspired me anew.

The most notable is my friend and Milkweed supplier, MC.  I wanted her to experience first hand the life cycle of a butterfly and she was eager to do so.  When the butterflies discovered her Milkweed supply she stopped sending me plants.  And for the past few weeks we’ve been monitoring the progress of her caterpillars and chrysalises.  Today MC produced her first Monarch butterfly.

But others have inspired me as well.  Friends have planted Milkweed in their gardens. My mom reminds me that I’ve come too far to stop.  Another friend wants to bring her son to my sanctuary to teach him about butterflies.  My husband reminds me to focus on all the butterflies that did survive the last generation.  Several new online friends have not only been supportive in their comments but have introduced butterflies in their artwork and to their grandchildren when they might not otherwise have done so.  I receive seeds for butterfly plants as gifts.  And then there’s my brother, who started this blog for me.

I recently realized that I have a strong desire to inspire and to be inspired.  In recent years the desire to be inspired has been lost in the quagmire of daily living, in the drive to produce, to provide, to keep up with the Joneses.  The desire to inspire has been lost in my skepticism, in my inability to imagine my ability to inspire.  But I’ve strayed from my usual path this year and in doing so have become acquainted with Inspiration.  And Inspiration tells me to keep going and to do so with enthusiasm and to share the story; the story will inspire others who will in turn inspire me.  Inspiration, like life, is circular.

I am a Milkweed plant whose seeds have spread and sprouted in the most unlikeliness of places.  I spread wonder and awareness and knowledge.  I spread the seeds of change.

Photo by MC.  And a big thank you to DB for watering the Milkweed plants!