Introduction
– The
following story is an allegory. An allegory is a story with a greater meaning.
You will probably soon figure out the meaning behind the story. As the story is
discuss, please keep in mind, the purpose of this exercise is for self-inspection
and insight.
This story
is not meant to open the doorway to finger pointing, accusing, blaming or
judging of others in the group. It is for learning about and looking at
yourself. Also, there is no expectation that anyone make any confessions, and
no one should feel judged or expected to say anything that they do not want
too. Now please focus for a few minutes and listen to the story of Addy
the Caterpillar:
Addy –
All the
caterpillars were eating leaves and their lives got out of control. Eating
leaves was fun at first but soon it became an obsession and all the caterpillars
did was eat and eat and eat and eventually eating leaves took over their lives.
Finally, an instinct kicked in with all of the caterpillars which told them it was
time to change and grow. All of the caterpillars made their cocoons and started
their transformation. All except one
One
caterpillar who we shall call Addy was very smart. In fact, he may have been
too smart for his own good. Addy knew that going into the cocoon was hard work
and doing all of that changing was going to be a long process and at times
painful struggle. Another problem that Addy had was that he didn’t want to stop
eating leaves. He knew he was out of control, but he wasn’t ready to stop his
leaf eating habit just yet. Addy, being very clever, came up with a plan.
When all of
the other caterpillars when into their cocoons, Addy pretended to make a
cocoon. He just worked on the outside so it would look like a cocoon, but it
was just the mere shell and no real change could happen inside of it. As the
other caterpillars went into their cocoons, Addy pretended to go in his, but as
soon as the others were all gone, Addy came right back out and started eating
leaves again with no one to bother him.
After a few
weeks of enjoying his leaves Addy could hear the other caterpillars coming out
of their cocoons. Addy had to come up with a new plan so the others couldn’t
figure out what he was doing. Addy, being as clever as he was, got two colorful
leaves and glued them to his back to appear to be a butterfly like the others.
Soon as
other caterpillars all came out as butterflies, Addy pretended to be one of
them. The butterflies had changed and now were eating nectar, but Addy still
was hooked on leaves. This time however, Addy had to eat leaves in secret when
none of the other butterflies were looking
Over time
the other butterflies started to notice something wasn’t right with Addy. He just
didn’t look like a healthy butterfly like they did, and he wasn’t growing and
learning to fly. The other butterflies would periodically check in with Addy
and ask him things like “is everything OK Addy, something doesn’t look right”
but Addy would always insist he was feeling fine and that he was doing great
and making awesome progress as a butterfly, even though he was only pretending.
With time the other butterflies couldn’t help but notice something was wrong
with Addy and he was no butterfly. But Addy had spent so much time and energy
trying to fool them, so they all stopped asking and just wished him the best.
They all knew something was wrong with Addy, but they had their own lives to
worry about as they were butterflies and it was time to move on
Eventually
all of the butterflies started to fly away but Addy kept up his charade, always
making excuses why he wasn’t flying like the rest them. Soon all the other
butterflies were gone and by then Addy’s fake wings had fallen off and there he
was again eating leaves, living the life of a caterpillar. Addy reflected on
his life and he was truly disappointed as all of his butterfly friends had
grown up and flown away and he was stuck alone living the same life he had been
living with no progress. Addy regretted not taking the time and putting in the
effort to become a butterfly because being a caterpillar for this long had
become tiresome and dreadful. The leaves were no longer as enjoyable, and he
was alone and afraid. Addy thought to himself “why didn’t I just speak up and
ask tell the other butterflies about my struggles, they could have helped me,
and I could have been a butterfly right now!”
Group
Discussion
What is the
meaning behind the story? – Obviously it is an allegory about addiction and
duplicity
Duplicity - deceitfulness in speech or conduct, as by speaking or
acting in two different ways to different people concerning the same matter;
double-dealing. Another way people often describe duplicity is “living a
double-life”
Again, the
rules for discussing this topic is for
SELF ASSESSMENT
No judgment
No
accusations
No one is
asking anyone to admit or deny anything – Just food for thought -for YOU as an
individual
Discuss:
Can anyone
identify with Addy’s story at any point in their lives? Living a double life
can be common in the process of addiction.
Why do
people choose to live a double life when it comes to addiction and sometimes
even when a person is supposed to be changing or recovering?
Why may it
be even more tempting to live a double life during a situation like the
COVID-19 pandemic (Think about how it may feel like it is easier to hide
things)
What is the
eventual outcome of living a double life?
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