by Sheri
I went out to my garden....Scratch that. I went out to the sad, desolate patch of earth which I used to call my garden and found this marvel of nature hanging around. I ran and got my camera and comenced playing hide and seek with a bug. The poor critter must be camera shy because as I edged myself into position to take a fabulous picture, (fighting the wind that was trying to blow me, the bug, and the sunflower it was on to the next county), the little stinker would scoot himself to the opposite side of the stem. "Nothin' to see here ma'am. Just move along." I kept trying and the bug kept scooting. I suppose I was interrupting the poor little creatures fight for survival. Probably not much for him to eat with the drought and all.
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| "Lady, you are persistent! And to think they call my kind pests! |
Eventually, I left the poor thing alone. But, I do think they are amazing creatures. The sheer size of Praying Mantis, as compared to the rest of the bug world, makes them unusual. And then there is the slow, deliberate way they move, the endless patience waiting for dinner to come their way. Even their light green color is beautiful to me.
I like slow creatures. One of my favorite animals is the turtle. They, too, seem to move about with a slow, deliberate peacefulness which somehow cries out to my soul. There is a longing within me to just be. No rushing, no fretting, just be in the moment. Yet, I very rarely can do it. I get fidgety. My very body seems to reject peacefulness as I immediately get a headache if I am sedentary too long. I totally sympathize with students at school who find it difficult to sit still. I was way too busy being good when I was a student to fidget much, but I do sympathize. (There is a rebel in me, however. All while writing this I have been hearing a teacher's voice prompting, "Isn't there a better word you could use besides 'bug'?" So, every time I start to write "insect" I stubbornly think "NO, it's a bug!)
Anywho, let's say we look to the praying mantis and the turtle for inspiration this week. Whether we are at work, at school, at home or at church, take some time to sit and look around and really soak up the wonder of the moment.
Maybe if we learn to sit still, our children will too!
3 comments:
What a cool post! I've always thought that praying mantises were cool, along with their somewhat relatives, the walking sticks! Both are so serene!
Looking forward to your next blog post!
Thanks, Tim! Serene is a good word. I like walking sticks too. There are some amazing creatures in the world if we take time to look!
Great post! I never sit and just be surrounded by the greatness we often take for granted! I am motivated to sit and soak it in!! Wether I can actually do it or not is another thing, but hey! I'll give it a try!
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