SIMPLE THINGS AREN’T ALWAYS THAT SIMPLE by Pennie Hunt

My word for this year is simplicity. I planned to organize, streamline, and simplify my life. Here we are halfway through the year, and I continue this mission. The nice people at Goodwill recognize me when I drive up with donations. My weekly garbage can is fuller than it has been in the past. And I am feeling a little lighter in my living spaces and the way I do my work. It is progress.

What I didn’t expect by keeping simplicity in my mind, I would begin to look at the simple things in life differently. It gave me peace to spend time drinking coffee with my dogs on my lap in the morning. Watching the different birds wrangling for their place on the food tray of my bird feeder was amusing to me. Counting and naming the baby bunnies in my yard brought me joy. Simple, silly things were slowing me down to enjoy life more.

It was during these moments of watching life in my backyard that I noticed dragonflies. Lots and lots of dragonflies. They were swarming above my yard in massive numbers. Day after day I watched them circling my property.

I have always been a butterfly girl. I love the beauty of their colors. The way they float through the air. The mystery of how they begin as a caterpillar, seal themselves into a cocoon, and then emerge as a glorious, graceful creature. When I was a young girl, my grandmother taught me the story of butterflies representing transformation and rebirth. She would hide a butterfly made of icing on each wedding cake she decorated as a symbol of the new life the couple was stepping into.

Yes, I am a butterfly girl. But this influx of dragonflies caught my attention. Of course I had to research them. I found the meaning of dragonflies in many different cultures.  
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Native American Traditions often viewed them as spirit messengers between realms.
In Japanese culture, they are seen as a symbol of courage and strength and are believed to carry the souls of ancestors.
Celtic Folklore considers them creatures of the fairy realm, representing the thin veil between life, death, and the spiritual dimension
 
After my research, I was captivated by the mystical dragonflies that were visiting me. I was convinced the ceremonial circling of my yard was a spiritual ritual of protection for me and recognition of all the loved ones I have lost. (Let me have my moment.)
 
And then one morning on my patio, there it was sitting on the concrete. I am sure it was waiting for me. Luckily, I had my phone in my pocket and snapped several photos before it lifted its wings and joined its tribe in the ceremonial circling of my home.  

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I looked to see if my photos were worth keeping. To my surprise, when I zoomed in on the dragonfly, I hadn’t just snapped a picture of an insect. I had captured a vision of a majestic work of nature’s art.

The design on its body was a perfect pattern of a glorious blue on black with white accents. Its huge eyes must have been scanning me as I took the photographs. Its wings were whisper thin with a delicate veining pattern that could only be created in a magical way. I had no idea that a dragonfly held such beauty.
 
I don’t know why the dragonfly chose to pause on my patio, but I like to think it was so I would notice. I needed to notice that the little things in life are not always simple, but until we slow down, we may never realize that their simplicity is exquisite … and this beauty is in our own backyards. Simplicity isn’t always that simple.
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                                                   Pennie’s Life Lesson:
             When you notice the simple things in life, you see their glorious beauty. 
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​YOUR TURN...        
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