I had an experience that cleared my thoughts the other day…
Out for a walk within the wilderness of Lake Tahoe I made a friend. Our favorite trail leads to a tributary of magnificence. While I was sat upon a log watching Lucy splash about the shallow running waters, a suspicious looking bee-like insect flew to my hand and seemed to feed upon my skin.
Luckily I have been studying entomology (specifically beneficial insects), so having educated eyes I could see that this was no ordinary bee and that I was not in danger of an unfavorable sting. For those who are not familiar with the Hoverfly, it is often mistaken for a sweat bee or bee. However, this silent flyer is no pest, but a beneficial friend.
The hoverfly prays on insects pests such as aphids or scales, and also plays a role in the pollination of plants.
Why this tiny insect was flying about my person I am not sure. Perhaps it simply had no fear and sensed none upon me. Or maybe human delicacies of food crumbs and residue was enough to make it feel invincible. Maybe it is because I eat mostly organic food and that insect sensed it.
Still, I had my doubts. I thought perhaps it is a baby bee out of rational insect fear. It crept over me, flying silently and I did not swat as much as I brushed the flying trickster away. This little bugger landed on my hand as it was in brush-away motion. How cute, right? So I let it go about its business mouth parting my skin and moving probably excreting along the way. I felt its touch and I knew that this was a beneficial relationship in action.
Suddenly, I was focused upon a thought, that all I was doing seemed more than but a dream within a dream. It was real. I was connected like I hadn’t felt before. In fact, I had no choice in this matter. Being beneficial had become more than a paycheck or a chore, it became the only route toward mending the conscious connection with mother earth. The only way to change the way I value the world and everything in it.
Friends can be beneficial without ever knowing it.
