“A butterfly could flap its wings and set molecules of air in motion, which would move other molecules of air, in turn moving more molecules of air— eventually capable of starting a hurricane on the other side of the planet.”
― Andy Andrews
One morning as I was driving my son to school, I suggested he put down his device and look out the window at the full moon still resting in the early sky while the rosy haze in the east began to herald the sun. As if on cue, a herd of deer raced across the misty field and a large crow made its perch in a tree along the road. Mother Nature was definitely in show-off mode with this young observer, and we quietly took in the moment.
Are you aware of the grace that surrounds you every day? The beauty despite the rush we are in to make our way to the next leg of our journey? Native cultures looked to our environment for direction and with anticipation for what came next. The cycle of the seasons, outer space in its orbit, and the weather have been linked to our own circadian rhythms, and yet the modern world seldom slows down to reconnect and breathe these beats. Maybe this is why our environment is so easily disregarded by some…we have forgotten our interconnection and relationship to it. If you are feeling overwhelmed or just need a break, take time to look at what surrounds you. Give gratitude for the beauty no matter how small, and if you haven’t yet found anything to cherish, keep looking.
It can be hard to consider beauty when so many feel forgotten…the suffering around us doesn’t make sense at first sight, and it is hard to see “heaven” in certain situations. Could it be that awesome forces are revealing something for all of us to see? First glance we may see pain and suffering. Second glance we see that we are being summoned to reach beyond borders and beyond our own limitations to help our fellow neighbors…to realize that we can create heaven here by the love that we share. Imagine if we each just unplugged and did what we could. The invitation is there for each of us to re-engage with our natural world and one another. One single drop in a pond creates ripples that reach the far offshore as a wave. A flap of a butterfly wing contributes to the hurricane. What are you waiting for?
