“You know the butterfly room at the nature museum?” my therapist asked me, a little out of the blue.
We’d spent most of the session discussing my anxiety coping skills —stuff like mindful breathing, connecting to the present moment, and holding strong emotions gently — so this was an interesting plot twist.
She continued: “Go there and just sit. Be mindful. Take everything in. If you get to hold a butterfly, notice how gently it sits on your finger.”
“Uh huh…” I said, nodding along.
“That’s how gently we can hold our thoughts and emotions. So they just sit in our hands, delicately, and then they fly away.”
“Butterflies,” I write in my notebook, before our session comes to a close.
I now have my homework cut out for me.
I will… no, I MUST play with some butterflies.
Fast forward to the weekend
I walk into the butterfly room at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum here in Chicago. Walking in with the intention of being mindful, my five senses are all a-tingle.
I sit on a bench. I observe. I get present.
