I am enough from Maegan Beishline

07 Sep I am enough from Maegan Beishline

The other day, my daughters and I were out for an afternoon stroll. I almost always take my camera on walks and on this day, at the last minute, decided to put on my macro lens {for really close up shots}. I never intended to get very far up the road…walking with little ones is often short lived. But we had walked a little further than I ever thought we’d make it when we came upon the most idyllic patch of orange cosmos in my neighbor’s yard. Knowing they wouldn’t mind if snuck in and took some pictures, I got a bit closer when I noticed the most beautiful yellow and black butterfly enjoying in the cosmos as well! I was beyond excited: there I was in front of this beautiful scene with my camera in hand while a butterfly literally posed for multiple pictures. I could not believe the near miracle that was occurring before my photography loving eyes! And there I was to capture it with my macro lens in hand! I kept thinking to myself, “This type of thing never happens to me!”

A little later that day while editing my photos, I came back to the thought of how truly blessed I was to have been there, in that moment, with my camera. I just could not believe it had happened to ME: ordinary, regular, mediocre, normal, happy, me! I then wondered if I would have been as excited to see a caterpillar crawling around in that same garden. And I laughed to think that I was so excited to have caught such a prolonged glimpse at what was merely a transformed caterpillar.

This occurrence paralleled a theme that had been present for a good part of my life; the thinking that certain people had that extra special something, that secret ingredient that allowed them pop, sparkle, and shine…while I did not. Those special, sparkly people seemed to fly while I merely crept along, watching and admiring.  I wished I had been born with that secret ingredient; I wished I could fly. I never believed that the potential was within me. I never believed I was enough.

Over the past few years, I have begun to realize how very much the same we all are…those that shine and those that don’t. And I realized that the only difference between us, the secret ingredient, was confidence. I realized that the butterflies in this world were just caterpillars that had realized their full potential. The secret ingredient wasn’t always there from the beginning…it’s often added later. It was kind of a revelation for me to think that all of that potential to sparkle and shine was already within me; that I was enough.

Caterpillars are never meant to stay caterpillars. They are always intended to be butterflies! No secret ingredients are necessary. I sometimes think about what a wonderful world we would live in if all of us caterpillars knew that we were butterflies inside…that there was no special ingredient that we did not possess. I wonder what the potential of this world would be if we all knew that we were enough. I believe that if would give us confidence and empower us to go ahead and start acting like we can fly; to start doing all those things we thought we didn’t have it in us to do. Because after all, inside, we are butterflies and it is our destiny to shine, to sparkle, and to fly!

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About Maegan Beishline

Maegan Beishline is a wife, a mother, and an artist; three roles which she cannot possibly disentangle. When she’s not chasing her three barefooted girls around the yard, she works as a fine art and portraiture artist in Northeast Pennsylvania. You can view her work on her website, purchase her fine art photography in her Etsy shop, and read about her journeys through creativity and motherhood on her blog.  Bio photo by Rosina Waszaj.