Three writings today to demonstrate the fleeting nature of life, and how it is oh-so important to embrace this moment. First, a message from Mother Nature:
Then some words from the inestimable William Wordsworth. He would surely also tell you, delight in the day, live fully today:
“What though the radiance which was once so bright Be now for ever taken from my sight, Though nothing can bring back the hour Of splendor in the grass, or glory in the flower; We will grieve not, rather find Strength in what remains behind."
~ William Wordsworth
Message in a Bottle (Susan L Hart)
Chisel not my name onto elegant stone, so you that I love might become slave to a time and place that no longer holds my soul, to which you could become tied, lost in sorrow and life’s limitations.
Rather, joyfully cast my dust to the wind, so I may dance on the breeze, and one day as the leaves rustle gently overhead, you will feel me there, riding a ray of sunshine kissing your face, and I’ll whisper in your ear, “Remember to live free.”
What humankind builds inevitably crumbles and turns to dust. Nature being centered in some higher power of the universe, quietly takes over and continues in its eternal renewal and expansion. Total human civilizations have been built and destroyed while Nature watches.
Perhaps it is time we took a cue from Nature. We are no longer centered in our eternal natural rhythms; they are being overwritten with man-made programming. We think we own our smart phones, but more often than not, they end up owning us. Next time you’re out in a public place, look around you. Generally speaking, more faces are pointing down towards those tiny screens than are looking up and around at the world.
We are organic beings, not machines, and yet those little screens have quite a scary hold on humankind. Technology has its place and can be very helpful to us, but if Nature teaches us anything, it’s about balance.
How do we reclaim ourselves, so that we can live in balanced harmony with our natural habitat (the Earth) and our machines?
Gossamer faerie, neon being of lightness, a fire-breathing fly?
I have yet to personally spot a flaming hot dragonfly. What a beautiful creature! It makes me wonder about the secret world of insects, a mysterious place to which we are seldom privy. Is the dragonfly legendary to the rest of the insects, just as dragons are to humans? A quirky, but interesting question.
The magical dragonfly is a fond girlhood memory of summer for me. Paddling around the lake on sultry afternoons, I loved to watch their iridescent colors flitting among the graceful lily pads. They captivated me. There was a purity and magic about these tiny gossamer creatures. They seemed to be visiting me from some mysterious, unseen faerie world, to which for a few moments I was privy.
Those dragonflies so many years ago were mainly cloaked in cool green and blue hues. Apparently the red ones mainly reside in parts of the world I have not seen yet. I haven’t done much traveling lately. Methinks it is time to go on a red dragon hunt…
Transcend
Beyond strife and grind, nature reveals the divine, heaven becomes mine.
“We need the tonic of wildness…At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.”(Henry David Thoreau)
Just as Thoreau apparently did, I feel very connected to nature and the Earth. How about you? If I had my druthers, I would spend the rest of my days exploring her wild places.
I also love the below quote by Edward Abbey, notable American author and essayist. I do believe when we connect to nature, we feel the pulse of our origins. We somehow got this idea that taller buildings and more technology define us as more civilized. I would tend to disagree… It feels to me like society is becoming more uncivilized by the minute.
When we reconnect to the Earth and respect her in a way that she deserves to be cherished, it will be a big step towards creating a healthier, more fulfilled and truly civilized society.
The haiku Blink is an excerpt from my tribute to nature,Our Beautiful Earth, now in its 2nd Edition
Wishing you a beautiful weekend, bright with happy things. 🙂 Now I must bid you adieu, because Izzy and I have some gardening to do.
Susan L Hart / Author 