by Anna Marie Trotman
Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water under the lily pads, there lived a little community of water beetles. They lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond with few disturbances and interruptions.
Once in awhile, sadness would come to the community when one of their fellow beetles would climb the stem of a lily pad and would never be seen again. They knew that when this happened, their friend was gone forever. Then one day, one little water beetle felt an irresistible urge to climb up the stem. However, she was determined that she would not leave forever. She would come back and tell her friends what she found at the top.
When she reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the surface of the lily pad, she was so tired, and the sun was so warm, that she decided she must take a nap. As she slept, her body transformed. When she woke up, she was no longer a water beetle, but instead a beautiful blue-tailed dragonfly with broad wings and a slender body designed for flying. So fly she did! And as she SOARED HIGH, she saw the beauty of a whole new world and a far superior way of life to what she had ever known even existed.
Then she remembered her water beetle friends and how they were thinking by now that she must be dead. She wanted to go back to them, and to explain to them that she was more alive than she’d ever been before. Her life had been fulfilled rather than ended.
But her new body would not go down into the water. She could not get back to tell her friends with the good news. Then she understood that their time would come, when they too would know what she now knew. So, she raised her wings and flew off into her joyous new life.
Like the dragonfly we are transforming and the process is more than just making changes; it’s more than just improving. It’s more than becoming a better, brighter version of what is now. To transform is to become something OR someone that has before now, did not exist.
While we are moving and growing and becoming better, we continue to become more of what we already are. It is a concept that is expressed in this Zen Koan. (A koan is a riddle or puzzle used during meditation to help unravel greater truths about the world and about the self.) The following kaon may help us to realize that while there are many changes, we are still the same, “transformation is the process of becoming that which we already are.”
We already are a caring compassionate community which provides services that go far beyond what might be considered as simply caring for a medical condition. We care for and look at you as a whole person including your lifestyle, your dreams, and your desires, and more. We are there to support you through the good times and through the tough times.
To be sure, change is in the air, and we have to prepare ourselves for this important transformation by moving through these important stages.
- Ending the chapter: This can be the most painful part if we hang onto that which is ending. For me, this means that I’ll eventually be moving from being an employee of TBC to being the Director of the newly formed Holistic Health Center of Delaware (HHCD). My working relationship with TBC will eventually dissolve and someone new will take over my roles and responsibilities.
- Imagining: As transformation applies to the new Holistic Health Center of Delaware (HHCD), the call came from a place deep inside Kathleen McCarthy which prompted her to move in the direction of an expansive model of care. She knew that to do this she had to begin to do things differently. We all caught her vision, which continues to unfold as new practitioners and health care providers come on board.
- Re-forming: There are internal changes required if the vision is to pull us forward and come to fruition. If we get stuck, if we are afraid to make the necessary changes, if we say to ourselves this will never work, then our work is all for naught.
The movie Akeela and the Bee is a great example of how an 11-year-old girl, who lived in a very poor and rough part of Los Angeles followed her dream of going to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. In order for her to have any shot whatsoever at achieving her dream, she had to close one chapter of her life and change. She had to lose an attitude, become teachable, soften, and realize her own brilliance.
Akeela had to re-form who she thought she was as she underwent her transformation. In the end, she flew so high and in ways she would not have expected, and her community flew with her!
As a part of our community, we invite you to fly with us, it will be a change but together we can make what looks like the impossible – possible.
Note: The Holistic Health Center of Delaware (HHCD) is in the process of incorporating, and becoming a nonprofit. HHCD will be an individual corporation separate from the Birth Center yet we will be working together to ensure the best health care for you and your family.