MONDAY, JULY 8, 2024 - HOPE FOR THE FLOWERS
I was visiting a friend recently and a bright yellow book caught my eye on her bookshelf - and as I picked it up, memories flowed through my body.
You can read the book here - all of 44 pages (with oodles of illustrations - maybe 10 to 15 minutes)
On the surface it is a great kids' book - two caterpillars - Stripe and Yellow - getting to be friends. They make mistakes - but eventually learn that they need to be transformed. The process isn’t easy and fun, but they came out of this stage as beautiful butterflies.
One of the obstacles they faced was a tower of caterpillars - going up into the clouds. “What’s up there?” they ask, and no other caterpillars know. They climb up the tower - being stepped on. As they climbed, Stripe and Yellow - asked the other caterpillars - why are we doing this? What’s on top? The top of the tower was always in the cloud.
The caterpillars were all trying to get to the top. Sometimes, a caterpillar or two would fall around them dropping to the ground (and were probably dead). Push, shove, and climb over another caterpillar.
Stripe and Yellow - eventually climbed down - disappointed.
Yellow decided to rest and attached herself / himself (gender isn’t needed, but it seems to be Stripe is a male and Yellow is a female).
*****
Stripe made friends with another caterpillar who had just attached himself to a branch. Stripe asks, “Why are you doing this”, and the answer “It just seemed right.”.
Fighting the concept, Stripe also attaches to a branch and weaves a cocoon around himself. And … eventually becomes a butterfly.
He can fly up onto the clouds over the tower of caterpillars and meets a beautiful yellow butterfly. They fly around and pollinate the flowers by spreading pollen from one plant to another. Thus the book’s title - is “Hope for the Flowers”.
*****
I read this fifty years ago - and had forgotten about it. I was doing my master’s in Mathematics Education, and somehow, a professor teamed me up with his junior high daughter and her friend. Once a week, we met and did activities. I can’t remember what we did, but we had a fun time. I was graduating, and the two of them gave me this book. I liked it.
*****
Reading it again - as a senior transgender adult, I got a different message - and one that I “preach”. LOVE TRANSFORMS. Stripe and Yellow loved each other - and were transformed into butterflies. There lives became valuable - spreading live-giving pollen to flowers for a new generation of caterpillars.
What is my message? I taught and encouraged 38 years of students to be all they could be. Now as a senior woman, what is my message? Don’t give up? Don’t give in? Don’t settle for less than what you could be.
Who are you? What are you to be? Something as simple as spreading pollen from one plant to another? Or something as simple as smiling and loving everybody?
“I can only love God as much as the person I love the least” (Dorothy Dsay).
LOVE WINS
LOVE TRANSFORMS
Karen Anne White, July 2024
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