05/10/10
They're everywhere. Gauzy wings outspread, swooping lazily overhead, woozy, happy, replete, beautiful. Sometimes, nature sends you little reminders, almost like a little post-it note hovering in the air. Like before the first rain, when the earth stills, the air hums and the sky darkens brightly with that strange glow, like it's lit from within.
They're everywhere. Gauzy wings outspread, swooping lazily overhead, woozy, happy, replete, beautiful. Sometimes, nature sends you little reminders, almost like a little post-it note hovering in the air. Like before the first rain, when the earth stills, the air hums and the sky darkens brightly with that strange glow, like it's lit from within.
But back to those dragon flies.
Have you ever noticed how all the lights are red when you're late? I see it every single day. And for a large part, that leaves me fuming at a traffic signal, the smoke pouring out of my ears, at the tardiness that is part of every morning and every workplace commute. It's not that I don't see the sense of letting it go, of the sheer idiocy of worrying over how late I am, and how late I will be – just like checking your watch every two minutes when you're running against time. Really, how often has time stopped for you?
That's when I saw them. At least twenty pairs, drowsily in love, dancing around, the sunlight glinting off their glossy bodies, gliding through the air in impossible arcs, drunk on life, drunk on love and drunk on the wonder of it all. Nature's little post-it, in all its glory. And that very wonder, made me smile. Grumpiness gone, the lights changed. Cars hooted, horns tooted.
And all I wanted to do was get out and shout, “Have you seen the dragon flies?”.
But I didn't. You see, realization and love for the little things must come from within. It must be your own eyes that open to the glories that surround you, for them to have the most effect. It must be you who sees the wisdom that looks down from the gnarled barks of an ancient tree. And it must be you that chooses to remember, that the best lessons in life are self learned, and come from the most unexpected sources.
I learned an important lesson today. One that I will no doubt forget or struggle to remember, when I'm next stuck at a traffic light, hopelessly late and pointlessly anxious. But that day won't be tomorrow, and I doubt it'll be next week. And there will be days when the dragon flies are nowhere to be seen, but I'll be able to envision them as clear as can be. And then again, there'll be days when I'm early, and the lights are all green, and I zip through life on a song, because of the miraculous beginning.
But for now, let me ask you, “Have you seen the dragon flies?”
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