Why Damselfly Lessons Along The Way?
In one of my blogs, I've shared with readers the story of the day I met a damselfly quite coincidently, and its significance to me at that particular time in my life. If you haven't yet read my tale of this serendipitous encounter, I invite you to do so My Spiritual Connection to The Dragonfly.
Now, what I don't mention in my story is that I was so excited about what had happened on this trip that when I returned home, I dove into Google and started doing a bunch of research on the dragonfly and damselfly. For those of you who are not aware, the dragonfly and damselfly are very similar. Often what we think is a dragonfly is actually a damselfly. They look very similar to the untrained eye. For the sake of simplicity, when I refer to a damselfly, I am referring to both.
My meeting with the damselfly was very inspirational for me, and I was super excited about what I found out about its symbolism. The meeting, coupled with the information I was uncovering, was truly life-changing for me. I was convinced that the universe had conspired to send me a message of hope and courage.
This is what I discovered about my friend the damselfly:
- The damselfly symbolizes change, emotional maturity, adaptability, and self-realization.
- Its incredible wings make it the most powerful navigator among all flying insects. It can fly in all directions, fly backward, and through rough winds. For this reason, it is associated with direction and purpose through challenging and difficult times.
- Damselflies have incredible eyesight. Hence, it is connected to curiosity, mental agility, and the ability to view experiences or problems from all angles in order to decide the best life has to offer.
"An encounter with a damselfly can mean that she is sending you a challenge, to trust in the experience, and to open yourself up to what life has to offer."
As I continued on my personal journey and began my training and interest in personal growth coaching, the significance of what I now consider my spirit animal became stronger and stronger.
I became inspired to create a learning model that would allow women to thrive in the face of adversity, challenges, and change. Allowing them to ultimately view all of their life experiences as precious opportunities for learning and growth.
Hence The Four Wings of Personal Growth.
What I came to realize on my own journey was that just as the 4 wings of a damselfly work together in a dance of agility and strength, the qualities of self-love, self-care, self-awareness, and self-empowerment when explored and developed, can create a synergy within us that propels us towards self-realization.
This is what I have now coined "The Damselfly Effect".
The following image further illustrates this dynamic. Although, I would point out that the circles should all intersect. When working on one "wing" or "area of personal growth", all others are influenced and enriched. I will be modifying this chart in the future in order to underline this relationship.
Hence, all the references to my friend Damselfly. 💗😊
For all of you interested in learning more about these 4 core areas of personal growth, I invite you to subscribe to my blog. I will be sharing many resources, stories, and damselfly lessons I have learned along the way.
Joanne 💙💚
