Some of life’s greatest gifts are the unexpected ones.
Sometimes they are so subtle that we might overlook
them. We might miss the treasure that has appeared
before us. Such is my tale of the gift of wings.
Early one August morning I left my barn on my trusted
two speed forty-year-old bike for a ride through the
valley. A couple of miles from my home is Morrow
Mountain State Park. When I feel industrious, I leave
the relatively flat terrain of Valley Drive and trek up
the curvy road to the state park.
There is one long hill before I get to the park. If I
increase my speed before the hill, I can usually make it
all the way up this incline to more level ground. It
took me weeks of bike riding to be able to master this
hill. I still need good speed going into it to stay on
my bike all the way to more level ground.
This particular morning the air was exceptionally fresh
from the overnight rain we had been blessed with. I was
so enjoying my bike ride as I pedaled fast to increase
my speed in preparation for the hill leading to the
state park. Right before the incline I noticed a large
green moth fluttering in the road.
Several thoughts ran through my mind: If I stop now,
I’ll never make it up the hill. The moth will be there
when I come back this way. A car may run over it. It is
only a moth.
It did not take me long to sort out these thoughts and
know what I would do. I slowed my pedaling and circled
back to the moth.
It was a beautiful lunar moth with an orange, yellow,
black eyedot on each of its pale green wings. I parked
my bike and knelt beside the moth. His wings fluttered
as he tried to fly. He could not leave the ground. One
of his wings looked damaged.
When I put my hand on the ground, the moth trustingly
climbed into my hand. Its body was velvety white and it
had dark legs and feathery antennae. It had two
forewings and two hindwings. Each hindwing narrowed into
a tail formation. Truly a work of art!
I did a little energy work with the moth helping him
release damaged energy. I talked with him about going
into spirit if he can no longer fly here on earth. As I
set him in the grass, I thanked him for gracing my life.
I got back on my bike knowing I could not make it up the
hill from where I was. After backtracking a bit to level
ground, I tried to get up enough speed to master the
hill. Half-way up the hill, my pedaling was just not
getting me anywhere. I got off and walked my bike to
level ground, not regretting having to do that but
thankful for time with the moth.
When I got back to the barn, outside a horse stall was a
single moth wing, a pale green wing with an orange,
yellow, black dot—a lunar moth wing! I placed the
delicate wing on a block of wood, thinking I would take
it home when I was not on my bike. I was afraid I would
damage it riding my bike.
The next morning I rode my bike to the spot where I had
left the injured moth the day before. He was not there.
I kept looking and found one of his four wings. Then I
found another. Finally I found all four of the moth’s
wings, His body was nowhere. I carefully placed the four
wings in my shirt pocket, wishing I had spent more time
with the moth the previous day. Then I remembered the
single wing I had found at our barn yesterday.
I continued my bike ride and returned to our barn
expecting to find the wing that I placed on the wood
block the previous day. It was not there. I looked all
around, but it was nowhere to be found. How I wish I had
taken better care of that single wing when I found it. I
pedaled to the house and carefully took from my pocket
the four wings of the lunar moth I had found near the
park.
Today I read on Koday’s Kids Amazing Insect website that
lunar moths are one of the most unusual and beautiful
moths found in North America. Their pale green wings
with eyedots and their long wing tails make them a
beautiful find in nature. With a 4-5 inch wingspan they
are one of the largest moths in North America. Although
they are common throughout eastern United States, their
night flying habits and short adult life make them a
rare find. This moth lives only one week as an adult.
Realizing the rarity of sightings of lunar moths, I
smiled as I remembered my encounter with the moth. I
thought of how the body was no longer there when I
returned the next day. Only the wings remained. Ants or
other creatures had eaten the body. The moth’s life
force had left its body. And so it is with us. One day
we will leave our bodies behind and fly into spirit.
I thought of how I had found the single wing at the barn
before I found the dying moth. And then how that one
wing was no longer there the next day. I lost my chance
to have that wing because I did not take care of it when
I found it. How many times do we get the chance to fly,
to move beyond something that has limited us? We reason
we will take that opportunity another day. Then that
chance does not return.
How often we forget our gift of wings. Spirit is here
helping lift us above all that would weigh us down. We
need only to access all the resources available to us.
Sometimes we just need to get above our circumstances
and see them from another perspective, to see how
everything weaves together to create the tapestry of our
lives.
I will treasure the four delicate wings of the lunar
moth. They remind me of the beauty of creation and of my
ability to fly above all that would weigh me down. May
you also have the gift of wings to comfort and sustain
you. Fly, Dear Ones, Fly.
Mary
August 2007 |
