An Incredible Journey
Two days ago, I was completing my last survey of the beaches for my October trip to the Gulf Coast. As I walked the last half mile of shoreline, I came upon a monarch butterfly laying in the surf–her colors brilliant in contrast to the pale sand.
I stopped to photograph this beautiful expression of nature. Intently watching through the lens, I saw a fuzzy, black leg move. I quickly hung my camera over my shoulder and picked up the fragile traveler. Her wings were saturated with salt water and damaged. I knew she would never fly again, much less make it across the Gulf of Mexico to the wintering area for millions of monarchs.
Cradled in my hand, she rested in the sunlight as I protected her from the breeze. As we walked, I thought of the amazing journey these tiny insects make. No GPS, no maps, no verbal directions. Pure instinct.
Suddenly another monarch flew past, out over open water, to begin the long stretch of her journey with no rest, food, or sleep until she reaches land on the other side of the Gulf. I wished a warm wind to gently help her as she fluttered out of sight.
Then I remembered the oil-laden winds of a few days ago and I cringed. How would the contaminates affect monarchs? I saw and felt what it did to sea oats. Could the fragile wings of these orange marvels cope with a thin coating of oil?
A very slight flutter caused me to refocus on the treasure in my hand. At first, I felt sadness knowing this little adventurous one would never make it to the end of her journey. Then I realized she had completed her journey. She was not attached to making it to monarch mecca. I was attached…for her.
Sometimes we think arriving at a hoped-for destination is the only measure of success. We get so caught up in where we think we ‘should’ be that we forget where we are. True success is being present to realize beauty and recognize blessings around us. My brightly-winged friend worked to the end of her life to follow the instinct calling her onward. That’s all any of us need do to have an incredible journey.
I carried her in my hand to the car, up the highway, and into my mother’s beautiful flowers. There, in the final moments of her life, in this realm, she was nurtured by the love my mother showers on her garden.
5 Replies to “An Incredible Journey”
So beautiful it made me cry. You are so awesome and a clear channel of love and life. Thank you for being is this world and blessing us with your thoughts. Namaste
Ane then I cried thinking how brief life is and what there is to do in so little time…….
When we can relax into our lives and let go of the push to do, we are then free to enjoy the present moment and the gifts it brings. As a wise sage once said: we do not focus on doing and thus everything gets done.
Dear Simone,
I am an old biology teacher (minor in organic chemistry so I somewhat understand the danger of an oil spill here). My little house, nestled in the lagoons, 3 blocks from the beach on the Fort Morgan peninsula was my idea of ‘biology teacher heaven’, my retirement home.
I’ve witnessed a monumental tragedy this summer, and perhaps worse is the decision to favor economics over the environment. I am a victim of the economy now, my summer internship was not rolled over into a state postition as promised… so I waver between prayers for a job and prayers for our fragile gulf.
I share your anguish over this horrible situation. You verbalize your thoughts in your posts so very well… so I will continute to repost your Blog if you permit, and I hope you will let me know if you learn of an effective counter to the BP propaganda.
Such a small, preventable mistake, such an enormous impact….
Dear Lynne. Please share the posts. The more people who read them the better they will know what is happening. At least from my point of view. Thanks also for your blogs. It helps me stay connected when I am away.