Some Thoughts About Butterflies


Two butterflies went out at noon And waltzed above a stream, Then stepped straight through the firmament And rested on a beam; And then together bore away Upon a shining sea,-- Though never yet, in any port Their coming mentioned be. If spoken by the distant bird, If met in ether sea By frigate or by merchantman, Report was not to me. --Emily Dickinson, Two Butterflies
I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free. --Charles Dickens, Bleak House
It is eternity now. I am in the midst of it. It is about me in the sunshine; I am in it, as the butterfly in the light-laden air. Nothing has to come; it is now. Now is eternity; now is the immortal life. --Richard Jefferies, The Story of My Heart
Once upon a time, I dreamt I was a butterfly ... Suddenly I awoke ... Now, I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man --Chuang Tzu, On Leveling All Things (Found among many other quotations compiled here)

The current counter number is: