a changing of seasons

It is now December, and as I type this there are snowflakes falling, whitewashing the world outside. But not only are seasons changing, but my dear companion Habbakuk is too. If you are reading this at all, you are probably aware that I have been caring for a caterpillar for the last couple of months. As is true in almost every aspect of life--time is flying, and growth is unstoppable. Over the weekend, Habakkuk became a full pupa. Here is a picture:

(sorry it's kinda blurry...)

Though acting similarly to a cocoon or chrysallis, it is not the same thing. We all grew up learning about the very hungry caterpillar and how he spins a cocoon and so on and so on. Most butterfly/moth species do that--spin silk or something around them, until they're nice and cozy on the inside. Tobacco hornworms, instead, become an archaic looking creature--a pupa. Basically, his outer skin has become skeletonized--hardened and darkened. This will protect him as he transforms into a moth. On the left is his head, that tube thing that you see curving down is what will become his moth mouth. On the right is his abdomen, and the muscles on the inside still work...so give him a squeeze and he twitches as if to say "excuse me, why are you touching me?". Actually, it's kind of creepy, because you wouldn't expect the thing to move. For the next 10 days or so, Habakkuk will be undergoing the ultimate life change. ALL of his cells are moving around, rearranging, and even changing completely. Nothing that went into the pupa will be the same coming out (personally, that sounds like an uncomfortable experience).

It's kind of amazing to me, the concept of change and transformation. Humans are often obnoxiously afraid of it. But one, by looking at nature, can see that change is inevitable and necessary for life to happen. We're always afraid of what "might be" or letting go of what already is, and so we have this aversion to change and to the future and so on. I, myself, am faced with a pretty humongous life change, seeing as I am graduating from college soon. I wonder what society would be like if we embraced the moving forward of time and accepted change as necessary and beautiful. Take Habakkuk as an example, if he didn't change from caterpillar to moth, he wouldn't be fulfilling his purpose--and wouldn't be able to continue more generations of caterpillar/moths. So as painful and scary as change may be, bring it on.