You are Free, Dear

You are Free, Dear © 2025 by Jessica Sanborn

This collage started as a reminder: I am not bound by the boxes, roles, and beliefs that once defined me. I am not held by those expectations that no longer fit, that are too small. I am free.

I experienced a soul-altering vocational and faith crisis in my mid-30s. The summer after I left church and my career as a lawyer, we found a caterpillar on our garden’s dillweed. We put the caterpillar in a butterfly house, which we set on our kitchen counter. After a few days, I noticed the caterpillar had stopped moving. I worried that it may have died. But I happened to glance its way when it started writhing, splitting its skin open, and wrestling it off its body before settling into its chrysalis form. Wide-eyed and astonished, I think I yelled out loud: “I just did that too! I’m in a chrysalis now.” After a while, a beautiful black-tailed swallowtail butterfly emerged. I was curious what form I would eventually take.

The butterfly reminds: You are free, dear.

While I was collaging this butterfly, a question emerged: “Where do you want to fly?” I knew that this question also belonged on the collage. But I had no answer.

The butterfly spent about a year on a plain white background because I didn’t know where she was going.

She (I) was stuck.

Then in the middle of the busiest week of my summer, I knew it was time to finish this collage. I still didn’t know where the butterfly wanted to fly. I realized that the destination wasn’t the point. I knew the next steps to take. Open up the magazines. Grab scissors and glue. Look for sky. Let her fly.

Now this collage reminds me: When I’m feeling overwhelmed, when I don’t know the destination or outcomes or how to get there, all I need is the next step. I know what to do. I’ve been stuck before. Freedom beckons. She’s found in the flying.

You are free, dear.
Where do you want to fly?

You are Free, Dear is available in packs of four 5 x 7 in. cards for $12, plus shipping. If you are interested in cards, feel free to let me know. I can take payment through Venmo or PayPal.