Reaching New Heights

“Loss can diminish us, but it can also expand us…Loss can function as a catalyst to transform us.” – Jerry Sittser, Grace Disguised

When I read this statement this morning I couldn’t help but to compare loss and grief to that of a cocoon and butterfly. The loss of a loved one, whether through death or some other type of separation, is devastating leaving us with a shrinking sense of self, a fractured and fragile version of our earlier personality. The definition for diminish is to reduce, lessen, weaken, fade away or fade out. Each of these words mean we have given up something, been compromised or possess a lesser value of something.

The caterpillar loses the only way of life it knows once the cocoon has been spun and along with the life the light is snuffed out. Once the work is done in the darkness the cocoon breaks open exposing new light, new life and new heights. The butterfly’s life will never be experienced as it once was but will experience an expansion of life with new abilities, new adventures and new limits.

The statement above says can, not will, which indicates that we have a choice in our loss. If we give in to the diminishing crushes of our circumstances we will not experience the expanding and emerging life of the results of the dark cocoon. We will never experience new heights and adventures from our newfound wings. Being transformed from and through our experience ensures that the pain suffered had purpose and did not occur without the blessing of seeing things from a higher level – a spiritual level.

I choose to be transformed from my experience and not defined by the pain. I choose to soar on heights with my new found wings even if they are still fragile. I choose to leave the darkness of cocoon behind but thankful for growth I sustained while resting in the middle.

Loss can diminish us, but it can also expand us…