Butterflies on the threshold

Butterfly

by Loie Mead

Recently, as a teacher, I was honored to work with a little boy who was almost 4 years old. We were participating in one of the neighborhood children's classes. The lead teacher distributed paper hearts to all the young students and then he carefully placed supplies of colored pencils on the tables. The teacher had presented a lesson on the theme "A Pure Heart," using various activities and games. Then the children were to create an art project showing how well they understood the lesson.

The little boy whom I was assisting was accompanied by his mother. When she observed me stepping forward to assist her son, she quietly stepped to the sidelines. The little boy was excited to begin the design on the paper heart. Suddenly I had a glimpse of something I perceived with the inner eye. As I gazed at the thin lines colorfully appearing from his heart, I told the young student, "I see a little green leaf and it is moving in your heart. Now I see a little butterfly slowly unfolding its lovely, green wings."

Then with beaming blue eyes, the child focused upon his heart and began reaching for a series of colored pencils. He did not say anything; but when he looked up at me, we both smiled happily.

The lead teacher asked us assistant teachers to help the children write the verse from the lesson. "May I write on the back of your heart?" I asked this dear little boy. His blonde head nodded yes, and he handed me a pink pencil. On the back of his heart, I wrote what his teacher had presented in the lesson:

"O Son of Spirit! My first counsel is this:
Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart."
— Baha'u'llah