Tiny wonders amidst busy lives

We find serenity if we embrace nature. I recently experienced a morning that I had to get somewhere in a hurry — a common occurrence for all of us, I am sure. This necessitated the proverbial “mad rush.” I paid absolutely no attention to my immediate surroundings — except looking presentable. I was focused on my goal, to arrive at my talk.

Leaving the house, everything appeared to be a mere blur as it passed by. In the foreground was a long light that “I had to make” if I were to be on time. The gods were against me, however. The light shone a dull red as I approached the junction. It was as if to say, “Stop: catch the moment.”

Just as my irritation began to come into full bloom, I happened to glance at the front of my scooter. There is a small space between the wind cowling (1) and the actual machine. From this opening, a tiny spider appeared. She began to feverishly, and rather boldly, I thought, build a web – a web, no less! The little lady was, quite discernibly, oblivious to my travails and frustrations. I fully expected a fly to soon be entrapped in her silk snare.

I didn’t miss the point. Nothing is significant unless I make it important. The small arachnid had her own mission to fulfill that day. Which is the more important? Hers, I would say. Without food, she would die: the natural world being bereft of 7-11. One must be attuned to those reflective moments in life. I am not willing to label everything as spiritual, but there certainly is “magic in the air” if you are open to receiving it.

I arrived at my presentation. Being naturally shy and by definition filled with self-doubt, I was apprehensive, to say the least. I have spoken in public many times, but I am always filled with dread before I speak. This is a very common experience.

Just as I was allowing my anxiety to proceed with its given twists and turns, another sign occurred — a magnificent butterfly appeared. Now butterflies are not a common sight on the traffic-laden streets of our city, so this was a rare phenomenon. She would not leave me alone. She made these large concentric circles and then fluttered next to my helmet. I took this, of course, as a positive omen: imagined or real. It didn’t matter.

The lecture subsequently went well. As a corollary to this story, butterflies cannot see their own wings (2) and, therefore, never see their own beauty. This is true of human beings as well — most people cannot see the beauty inside them.

So the next time you are in a “blind hurry,” try to catch a moment and reflect on the natural and minuscule magnificence around you. The great Russian author and playwright, Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), leaves us with a thought:Let us learn to appreciate there will be times when the trees will be bare, and look forward to the time when we may pick the fruit.

A closing thought: It is difficult to notice the little things around you: the bugs, the birds, and the bees, to name but a few. It is this lack of attention that is causing some well-placed concern. As a society, we are not remarking on the fact that our natural world is disappearing. (3)

As we become more aware, our perception of Gaia, or Mother Earth, grows and this will, quite literally, “Save the world.” So the next time you kill anything small and annoying try to remember that it has an ecological place in our wonderful world. Together, I believe, if we each do our part, to paraphrase Winston Churchill (1874-1965), our Earth will be fine. (Parts of this essay were first published in 2019)

To sum up: This week we spoke about noticing the physical world around each of us and learning to appreciate its beauty.

A small joke: The past, the present, and the future walked into a bar: the mood was tense.

Just for fun :