Ladybugs and the Key to Transformation

Focus and Patience

It was the last golf game of the season and it couldn’t have been a more beautiful fall day. An hour’s drive north of the city, the colours of the leaves were vibrant. Fire red and deep orange stretched out like a canvas. Every fall, I am awed by the tapestry of colours that nature has on display.

There is one thing that I have learned about golf. It requires focus and patience. Every shot is unique and a new opportunity to start afresh. When you stand in front of the ball ready to take the swing of the club, you can’t rely on what you did before nor can you anticipate what you will do in the future. You can only be present to either strike the ball with precision and grace or flub it so that it goes in all sorts of directions.

On this particular shot, just as I began my swing, I felt a tickle and flutter on the top of my left ear. I took the shot. It wasn’t a good shot. Whatever was on my left ear had distracted me from my focus.

I reach up to touch whatever it was and found a ladybug had landed there. It fluttered from the surprise of my hand but soon settled down on the edge of my finger. This ladybug soon flew away. However, as I made my way around the course, there were swarms of ladybugs all around. Throughout the round, they landed on me, in the golf cart and on my clubs. I was surrounded by ladybugs.

Lady Bugs

Ladybugs are known to bring good fortune. They are a symbol of luck.

In Germany, the little red bug has been associated with the Christian image of the Virgin Mary. Popular legend has it that the Virgin Mary sent the bug down to earth as a gift – especially for farmers, seeing as ladybugs eat up aphids and other crop-chomping pests. When farmers saw them, they knew that it would likely be a bountiful harvest. And a bumper crop was a very fortunate occurrence indeed. To this day many Germans believe you’re in luck when a ladybug lands on you.

It is a very hearty creature known for its hard work and ability to withstand outside factors. It is very adept at finding food and water, and it is also able to handle unfortunate events like strong rains and heavy winds.

I think this is the lesson for us all. The ladybug shows us good fortune because of the work we do behind the scenes.

Consistency, perseverance, and transformation

In our personal journey of individuation as we encounter the struggles of life that sometimes knocks us off-center or sends us for a loop, it is the message of perseverance that leads to the transformation. It is the hard work that we put into working with our unconscious material and our dreams that lead to the transformation. The things that are important to us and to make us a better person that adds fuel to our fire.

We might not see the results of our hard work or the diligence and patience of our inner work week after week, month after month or even year after year. However, one day a ladybug lands on us and we notice that something is different. Our perspective has changed. We experience ourselves as calm and peaceful after a long period of struggle. Something new has entered our life and we are able to move in a direction that wasn’t imaginable before.

Questions for Reflections

Sometimes in life, a turbulent time may end up bringing a much-needed change or transformation. Reflect on the last time something “negative” ended up resulting in something positive for you.

This is the time to re-something in your life. What is your RE word and what do you plan to do with it?

This month’s newsletter is all about reflection and perspective. Can you think of a way your perspective has changed on a certain topic or area of your life? How has it changed and why?

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October 2019
Copyright Christina Becker