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Report: Yonge Street Half Yearly Meeting Jean Claridge_________________________________________________________A wonderful turnout of Friends gathered fromHamilton, Yonge Street, Simcoe Muskoka, andToronto Monthly Meetings. We met in the beautifulOrillia Meeting House, built in 1840 as the home ofFrederick Dallas, the local mill owner.The program titled The Butterfly Theory began withCarol Leigh-Wehking (HMM) reading a story by TrinaPaulus called Hope For The Flowers. It was a story oftwo caterpillars called “Stripe” (a boy) and “Yellow” (agirl) and their struggles to climb a ‘caterpillar pillar’ toreach the top. Somehow, while all the other caterpillarspushed and kicked one another, Stripe and Yellowformed a deep, loving friendship. They asked “Howfar up is the top?” and, “Where are we going?” Theywondered if the struggle and climbing over others wasworth the effort. Yellow finally decided that there wasmore to life than this. They wondered, if they helpedone another would they get to the top quicker? At onepoint they took time to just enjoy their friendshipand stopped climbing, but Stripe got restless andcontinued the journey upward without Yellow. Along •the way, still not seeing the top, two caterpillars felland appeared dead. Stripe tried to help a third whoweakly said “The top...they’ll see butterflies”.Meanwhile, Yellow was desolate without Stripe and •tried to find him to no avail. She met an old caterpillarwho was hanging upside down on a branch; She triedto help him but he said, “No, my dear, I have to dothis to become a butterfly”. She asked what a butterflywas, to which he answered: “It is what you are meantto become, with beautiful wings joining the earth toheaven. Without butterflies, the world would soonhave fewer flowers...You must want to fly so much thatyou are willing to give up being a caterpillar.” “To die?” •she asked, and he said, “Yes and No...Life is changed, •not taken away”.•Then he taught Yellow how to make a cocoon, There is notcovering himself in silky threads, calling it his inbetweenhouse, taking time, saying that becoming abutterfly allows you to be free, to really love with the •kind of love that makes new life, with the knowledgethat there is more to life than fighting.When Yellow becomes a beautiful butterfly, sheflies from high above, searching for Stripe. When shefinds him, he recognizes her beautiful loving eyes andremembers the caterpillar who said: “The top...they’llsee butterflies”. Stripe then tells the others that toget to the ‘top’ they must fly, not climb. They didn’tbelieve or understand, but Stripe journeyed downwardand went to the old place where he met Yellow.Yellow showed Stripe the two cocoons on a branchand showed him what to do and he climbed in. Yellowwaited and waited for his transition to the end, or tothe beginning?While listening to the story I felt it was a messageabout why we are here on this earthly journey: to learnabout the Big Picture and eternal existence. Deathis not the end, but a change in form – much like ascience experiment I once witnessed, which illustratedthat energy always exists, it cannot be destroyed, andit keeps changing form. The story taught us aboutTransformation, Growth and Love.Jean ClaridgeYonge Street Monthly Meeting– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –We learned the importance of a Spiritualrelationship with God and Creation; to bepatient and accepting; to help one anotherunderstand their struggles in life.The cocoon represented a stage of doubting.You must get through it and learn to trustand come out stronger.• Silence teaches us to lose ourselves and‘listen’ to those with whom we disagree,to allow space and resolution. Knowingthere is God in everyone helps us to reachanother stage.We learn from other Faiths.There is an Emerging Church.Some churches fear losing security.• one answer to “What isthe purpose of life”. It is different foreveryone.One Friend expressed thankfulness forthe Journey; for becoming a missionaryand a doctor helping soldiers; for learningyou can’t follow Jesus and kill people; foracceptance of other beliefs and faiths.Eternal Spirit is in the Silence giving us apersonal connection with Truth.Volume 109, Number 2 29