
Why we
use a butterfly
Butterflies
are a symbol of The Compassionate Friends, and are seen as a connection to
Renewed Life ~ Hope. The Compassionate Friends embrace the butterfly as a sign
of hope that our children and siblings are living in another dimension with
greater beauty and freedom. For many it is a belief that we will join with them
in renewed life after own our passing from the earth.
The
butterfly doesn't begin by being a butterfly. It emerges after a first life, a
“changing death” and a metamorphosis into something free and beautiful.
Symbolically, the caterpillar has been thought to be LIFE ON EARTH; the cocoon,
DEATH; and the butterfly, EMERGENCE INTO A NEW, BEAUTIFUL FREER EXISTENCE.
Native
American legends say that if you have a secret wish, hold a butterfly and
whisper your wish to it. Since butterflies cannot speak, your secret is ever
safe in their keeping. Release the butterfly, and it will carry your wish. When
we release our butterflies during a remembrance ceremony, we send our whispers
to our children and siblings, carried on the wings of the butterflies.
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