“You need to change. People are complaining because you keep talking about kindness and love. We don’t like the songs you choose. It’s getting old and I’m not sure you’re a good fit here,” said a church leader.
Why do you think I keep talking about kindness and love?
It’s because you and others just don’t get it.
Your constant negativity and criticisms are tiresome.
Our world can be so judgmental. I have found this to be especially true as a female leader. We work hard and receive criticisms shouting “you’re not enough!” National leaders proclaiming harsh criticisms of women based on appearances and traditional expectations are only making it harder. Language referring to strong women as “nasty bitch” and “fat piggy” is offensive, unfair, and destructive to our whole culture. We feel it personally.
What criticisms do you struggle with? I want to encourage you by saying, “Let go of unhelpful criticisms from a judgmental world.” I know doing so is easier said than done. Perhaps you have good people in your life who provide support and affirmation to get beyond destructive messages. It’s a start, but their voices are not enough.
Your voice is what counts. Can you see the goodness and beauty you inherently carry? I hope my poem “I Think I Saw a Butterfly” will inspire you to see and embrace who you are, so every day you can boldly say, “I see a butterfly!”
I Think I Saw a Butterfly
For the briefest of moments on a very ordinary day,
Wings with blue, yellow, orange, and rose fluttered before my eyes.
I whispered, “I think I saw a butterfly.”
My husband looked at me with brown, soulful eyes,
His face creased with an impish grin as he said,
“Every day I see that beautiful butterfly.”
A stranger walking by paused to look,
And with a frown proclaimed, “Butterflies are only orange and green.”
“You did not see a butterfly.”
In that moment my child danced over with laughter on her lips,
She threw her arms around me and sang,
“Mama, I love your butterfly.”
In response to such childish words a critic’s scowl deepened,
As he shook his head and shouted,
“You are imagining it. You did not see a butterfly.”
A friend stepped forward, not afraid to enter the fray.
Squinting as if to see more clearly while saying,
“Why yes. I think you see a butterfly.”
I shut my ears and stopped to look on this very ordinary day,
When wings of blue, yellow, orange, and rose fluttered to a steady beat.
I know I saw a butterfly.
This poem was published in “100 Poems & Possibilities for Healing: Volume 2” by Brave Healer Productions in 2025.