The Butterfly Effect
My faith is found in the moments of synchronicity … the statistically improbable micro-miracles that make you stop and smile with a deep sense of knowing that we are never alone. And in Truth, when we unplug from the mental noise that can often be the constant audio stream of our usual existence we begin to experience more of the happenstance … the happiness of our true nature.
When its not toxic hot outside and my body can withstand standing for a little bit, my boyfriend and I take a little walk around the perimeter of our home. There is almost always something in bloom that I can nibble on, at the moment the Brown Turkey Figs are ripe and rife, but my favorite tree is our Jujube. I love the small crab apple size fruit and the mild flavor feels soothing to my palate though that may be the anxiolytic properties of this rare Asian date. Whatever it is, I am deeply grateful for the weeks the Jujube has ripe fruit. We actually have two Jujube trees on our property. One on the East side of the house and one in a small nook in the south west end of our yard just behind the fence where our koi pond is secluded. The area is small, perhaps 9 x 9 ft. and is hidden by juniper trees and two large pink Hibiscus shrubs that are well over six feet tall. Inside the small lot is a lemon and orange tree along with my happy Jujube.
I had just picked a small green jujube yesterday afternoon when a yellow and black swallowtail butterfly caught my eye. She floated down into this little no-man’s land and was gliding ever so slowly between the branches. I stood very still and watched her for a long while. She seemed to be flying in slow motion. Even in the moment I knew it was Grace personified.
My boyfriend joined me and we both watched the papillon glide through the low limbs. She seemed to be eating small gnats, if butterflies even do eat bugs, I don’t know. It was just such a magical moment. After a little while, when she was certain she had our full attention, she flew low and near the corner wall of the ally behind our house and slowly floated up and away.It was then that we noticed a rather large washed out hole in the ground just under her flight path. It was an odd and worrisome hole because it looked like some kind of small sink hole and at first blush we didn’t know what could have created it.The redneck got a small spade and dug around a bit and quickly uncovered the rim of a very old tree. They must have cut an old growth tree down decades ago and left the trunk underground. Over time the roots had rotted away and some of the boroughs it left were almost three feet deep. My man traced one of the sprinkler lines and noticed that there was a very slow leak (faulty solenoid) that wasn’t quiet shutting off. He explained to me that the slow drip had washed away some of the decay revealing the underground small cavern. Had it not been for the butterfly beacon we would not have noticed our plumbing problem.
The Butterfly Effect explains how small events can impact our future, indeed the animal shaman wisdom of the butterfly reminds us of the power of the whirlwind,transmutation and magick. And it is a magical moment that brings us to the fully awakened state … when we can see what is right under our feet instead of tripping over our untidy mental shoelace as we sleepwalk through the daze. Was the butterfly a Paraclete, coincidence or Carbonara Effect? Does it matter in the end that we know something for certain, or that we Believe it is so in our heart? As I bite into the thick skin of the jujube and taste the sweet fruit I am simply grateful that the tree lives in my garden and on the good days I remember who I AM.
