The Affair Is Over

June 20, 2021 by

Living now in slits
hatching into mini nymphs
dropping to burrow into the earth
for the next 17 years.

My love affair with them is ending.
Out of sight, I will forget that they live on.
I’ll forget the wonder of the whole process.
I’ll forget, for the next 17 years.

The cicadas are moving along. For many people it is a relief. No more being startled when one flies at you. No more hearing the crunch of walking on their bodies. No more constant buzzing in the background.

Yet for me, it’s the end of participating in a largely unseen life cycle, one beyond my ability to really comprehend. We humans think we are so “in the know,” so important. Yet life exists, unseen, in all its variations and complexities all around us.

Zookeeper chad said, “What we don’t love, we don’t protect.”* What we can’t see, we can’t love. Or can we?

My prayer: May I learn to love the life I cannot see, the life I don’t understand and even the life I may be uncomfortable with.
May I open my heart and remember with each breath that all life, known and unknown, is sacred.
May I live in gratitude for all the life that is given us: to support us, delight us, puzzle us, and even, scare us at times. Amen.

Filed Under: cicadas, Life Tagged With:

At Last

June 14, 2021 by

All the flying
bumping into things
being screamed at
knocked down by rain…
yet, we kept going.

They mated on my driveway. I’m not sure it was the most romantic setting but then again I don’t think that was one of their criteria. If there was a thought, it was probably more like “Wow, we survived. Let’s get it together.” True, it was less a choice and more of being driven instinctively to come together and propagate. Still, it made me reflect.

I wonder if I’m drawn in some unconscious way to ensure the survival of our human species? Is there some instinct or guidance system operating that hasn’t been distorted by my capacity to think; to focus on “me” (my health, wealth, importance, happiness), on my tribe/class/group? Is our ability to not care about the human species as a whole a flaw or just a developmental step while we consciously figure out that we are all in this together?

What we do today affects others and will affect the life of future generations. The question is, deep down, do we really care? Care enough to really change, be inconvenienced and uncomfortable. To really care what happens half way across the world let alone the other side of the city. Do we, I, care enough?

Filed Under: cicadas, Creating with others, death, Life, Nature, We are creators Tagged With: , , ,

“More”

June 2, 2021 by

“You might notice that some cicadas have shriveled-up or otherwise damaged wings. Most of the time, their wings become damaged during the molting process (ecdysis), specifically while their wings harden (sclerotize). Their wings and body are most vulnerable when they are still soft.”*

Not all cicadas get to fly. They are most vulnerable when they are still soft, sort of like us. They get trampled by those who are stronger and faster. There are obstacles that prevent them from hanging the way they need to for their wings to harden. Sometimes, they are killed by predators, sometimes by those who are just scared and decide to step on them.

Seeing hundreds of cicadas living out their life cycle, driven by some unseen force, has me thinking. Cicadas live their life unaware, blindly competing and crawling over each other, trying to succeed, trying to get a chance to mate. Sometimes they are damaged though no fault of their own. Watching the human race, it can seem that a cicada’s life is way too much like our own. But watching the cicadas also reminds me…and I have hope.

Unlike cicadas, we can move beyond our basic instincts and power needs. We can question what we’ve come to believe about ourselves, others and the world . We can become more: more of who we really are, more self-accepting, more loving, more creative in solving the challenges of the world.

Cicadas may mirror how life too often is for us. However, they can also remind us that “more” is possible. I have hope.

*https://www.cicadamania.com/cicadas/why-do-some-cicadas-have-shriveled-up-or-damaged-wings/

Filed Under: Life, We are creators Tagged With: , ,

The Gift

May 26, 2021 by 
The curtains part 
And, for a moment,
I get to fly
To feel the sun
Touch another's face
Know the precious freedom
of being here

(Poem written in response to the prompt “curtains,” by Kathy Jacobs.)

I’ve been fascinated with the emerging cicadas this week. At first, when I saw only one, started to wonder if it was lonely. Then slowly there were more, and finally lots more. I knew soon it would be cacophony of sound and then, after mating they would die.

There more I contemplated what was happening, it seemed they were here to mirror our own journey. The limitations and the possibilities. With cicadas, I can step back and see the whole story. So it is with reverence I think I’ll be writing more about cicadas.

In the meantime, can you find your own mirror in nature…something you can see the cycle of? Can you consider learning from that which we declare less than us?

Filed Under: Creating with others, Oneness, Presence Tagged With: