It All Begins with You: Be the Change Our World Needs

By Valandou Contzonis

When a caterpillar enters the stage of chrysalis, its body disintegrates to form a butterfly. The old form dies, and a new form is born.

But the butterfly must break free from its cocoon to spread its wings and reach new heights. Without struggling, its coloured wings would not be strong enough to allow it to fly.

Many children, teenagers, and adults find themselves in a similar situationthey know they are in the caterpillar stage of life, and they realize its time to transform.

This book is a rallying cry to create and usher in change within ourselves and in others so we can realize our destiny. By using our voices, hearts, and minds, we can bring back peace, unity, and love.

Its important to remind yourself what you may have forgotten on your journey so far: that you are a human being who has the power to change your situation from a negative to a positive, from unfulfilling to fulfilling.

Commit to the present and shape your tomorrow with the lessons in It All Begins with You.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press AU
• Release date: Mar 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9781504310994

Valandou Contzonis

Valandou Contzonis is a compassionate soul who loves the world and all its life. She believes that all beings can contribute a spark to bring about change to the world, and she craves to see a future where we live in peace, love, and harmony.

Book preview

Chapter 1

The Journey

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.

—Richard Bach

There are times in our lives when we create stories about why we cannot live lives filled with love, joy and abundance. No matter what direction your life is taking, there is no right or wrong. Each and every one of us living on the incredible planet we call Earth is here to learn some amazing lessons. From the day we are born, we are learning and growing—not just in the physical form but also the metaphysical. Many of us are still caterpillars, whilst others are butterflies.

When I was a little girl, my beautiful mother would always tell me the story about how caterpillars transform into butterflies. When I was that little girl, sitting on my mother’s warm and welcoming lap, absorbing the wisdom she so freely shared, to my ears it was only a magical story. Then one day, whilst sitting back at school and observing what was happening around me in the playground, my mother’s magical story began to play out in front of me. The penny dropped, and I let my walls down. Guards and limiting stories were holding me back from showing the world who I really am.

Science tells us that when the caterpillar enters the stage of chrysalis, the body disintegrates to form the new body of the butterfly. In this magical transformation, the old dies, and the new is born. The butterfly begins its journey to break free from its cocoon, and spread its wings and reach new heights. This is a very important and difficult stage for the butterfly. Its freedom does not happen easily. The butterfly must struggle. To exit the cocoon without this struggle, its beautiful coloured wings would not be strong enough to allow it to fly.

This is the same for many children, teenagers and adults. Metaphorically speaking, you are in the caterpillar stage of your life, realising that it is time for the old to die and the new to be born. It is not too early or late for our lifetime to truly start. We begin to take the appropriate steps, one at a time, to find our inner truth.

I was only ten when I started to challenge my beliefs, my family’s beliefs, and the beliefs that society dictated. I know deep down that most souls I cross paths with are on a direction that does not feel right. I never judged any of them and I continue not to. Instead, I made a promise that I would stay true to myself so one day I may inspire my friends, family and all souls that I connect with.

My journey in early primary school was a struggle, and within this struggle, I learnt many important lessons, as well as much wisdom and knowledge. I could have chosen to give up on my struggle because it was simply just too difficult and painful. By doing so, we keep creating the exact same difficult and painful story- or I could go in the direction of experiencing the struggle, allowing myself to feel the emotions. By feeling the emotions instead of playing them in my mind, I was able to see the truth and become more aware.

It was in that exact moment when I let go of all the words repeating in my head, which only created and contributed to my story. I simply stood there and I began to see through everyone. I could see their fears and insecurities and knew why they chose their actions. In that moment I became the large, beautiful butterfly I am today.

I want to share with you the tools I learnt from my mother and other outstanding spiritual teachers so you too can begin your transformation. My goal is to speak out to all the kids and teens out there. We are the future; it is up to us how our lives and world will be in the future. With so much fear, anger and ego in the world, today, our future does not look too great. Thus, if we join hands and create change together, one step at a time, beginning to fall in love with ourselves first so that we may love others, then we may spread unconditional love in our homes, schools, and community.

Then our future will be safe.

Chapter 2

The Reason

Look around you. What do you see? Look at the people around you. What do their actions tell you about them? You see young souls doing everything in their power to fit in, even if the consequences are horrible. The number of youth experimenting with drugs and sexual activities is increasing and obesity is moving up the scale to a dangerously unhealthy high. Depression and anxiety are affecting many children and teens, and this is alarming. Twenty years ago, if you asked a thirteen-year-old if he or she felt depressed, most likely, the answer would have been, "No