The subtlety of nature

Fiery dragonfly

You can find it in the little things.

Airy

I was out for my walk this morning, noticing the subtle changes, the little signs that autumn is on its way.

Gone to earth

Leaves are beginning to change color and drop.  Or hang around for a while, adding color to their branches and the landscape.

Red

The late summer flowers are blooming, and there has been a subtle shift in the light each day, the sun rising and setting in its almost-autumn positions on the horizon.

Water: Today’s view of the pond.

As I walked and looked I found myself pondering, in the abstract, ideas of right and wrong, opinions, and the stories we tell ourselves.  You don’t see that in nature (unless, of course, you happen to be human and prone to anthropomorphizing which, I have to admit, I’ve been known to do on occasion).

Waspish

The dragonflies are not worried about who is right and who is wrong in any disputes they may have.  The praying mantises are not arguing about presidential elections.  The spiders are weaving webs, not tales about their lives.  Nature just is.  Cruel at times, certainly.   I suppose if the male praying mantis has an opinion about anything it would be whether or not he’d like to keep his head after mating.  Or maybe he never sees that coming, and he’s just happy in his Being-ness because that’s all there is.  He’s living in the now.

During my travels through this lifetime I’ve had the good fortune to meet one or two people who are happy in their Being-ness, as if they have awakened to the dreams and dramas in life, and have no need for them anymore.  Then there are others who get glimpses of how it is to be happy in their Being-ness, knowing that in many ways it’s all a story they tell themselves, yet they still slip back into the dreams and drama because the ego is so insistent.  Lots of folks, though, seem to be stuck in their stories, their opinions, and the duality of right and wrong, us and them, I and the other.

Ironweed mingling with the grasses in the meadow

Political season, which is upon us like a plague, makes it easy to get sucked into the (false) dichotomy of right and wrong, good and bad, donkey versus elephant, truth versus untruth.

I would like to be happy in my Being-ness, and most times, I am.  It’s when I slip back into the story I’ve made up about who I am, what my opinions are, and what I group into categories of right and wrong, that I feel as though I lose the light that comes with just being.  Labels suck the love right out of life, don’t you think?

So as I walked and pondered this morning, I thought about how to send the Drama Llama packing, to let go the way the leaves let go, beautifully, subtly, and colorfully.

It might happen someday, just like that.  You never know.

A thistle seed floats upon the air

In the meantime, that’s all from the Bogs on this tranquil Sunday.  Thank you for visiting as I ponder life, the universe, and everything (thank you, Douglas Adams).   It’s a warm day.  A perfect day to go out to the swim platform and after you’re good and warm, go for a swim.  The water is starting to get a slight chill to it a foot or so down due to the cooler nights, but after the heat of the sun, the chill is refreshing.

Underwater oracle. The answers are the mystery. (Taken at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium yesterday.)

The birds are beginning to flock and fatten up for winter or migration so there is a lot of singing, cheeping, and other banter going on in the trees and at the feeders.  The crows are holding their annual late summer convention back in the woods.  The cicadas and bees are all a-buzz in the meadows, and at night the crickets serenade us with their gentle chirping sounds.

If you’d rather not go out to the swim platform, you can relax on the deck under the shade of the umbrella, take a stroll through the meadows, or check out our new front porch, and still enjoy all the sounds that nature is offering right now.  Whatever you decide to do, I wish you a delightful day, evening, or night, wherever you are on the spectrum of time.

Garden gnome taking time to stop and smell the flowers.

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