Yesterday, I met a Praying Mantis by my mailbox, of all places! We were on the same eye-to-eye level... perhaps on another level, as well. I had seen mantids several times before, but always "from the top looking straight down." This time, I was more beside him as he hung upside down, and could watch him as he watched me. He turned his head to follow the sound of my voice, my fingers as I wiggled them at him. I almost felt as if I were interacting with him on some intelligent level.
I watched him for some time... taking note of his praying posture, his patience as he could wait, unmoving. I remember reading somewhere that mantids can teach us much about perception through stillness. Time in a linear sense seems irrelevant to them. They move according to inner instinct.
Manny (the Mantis!) showed me how to consider my own patience, my own "perceptions through stillness." Have I lost patience with something or someone? Have I been too patient? I had never considered being too patient before, but realized that both ends of the spectrum can have as detrimental an effect in different ways.
He invited me to reflect on my own perceptions about certain situations and people. He reminded me that I needed to be in touch with my instincts, and move or not move appropriately.
It was an interesting "conversation," one I will long remember. It was more than just "Pandy is talking to a bug again..." It was somehow more, and I am awestruck, once again, by how much we can learn on a personal level from God's Creation.
No comments:
Post a Comment