The Unassuming

Have you ever gandered a glimpse of the Uncompahgre fritillary? No? Well, I haven’t either.

However, this lackluster superstar has quite a story to tell. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and pull up a chair. 

These small creatures have captured the crown on perseverance.  They live way up high- above 13,000 feet where the air is so thin, the winds so fierce, and the ground so cold that most who come to visit quickly take their leave.

No so the Uncompahgre.

They have a wing span of one inch…yes one inch- about the length of the last three words of this sentence. Yet in their meagerness- they are fierce warriors. They survive in an environment so harsh that it takes them a full two years to complete their development. This- for the honor of soaring amongst the clouds for a few short weeks in the heat of summer.

We should all benefit from the patience and perseverance of this unassuming butterfly- who does what Uncompahgre butterflies do- completely enjoys the time they have. Mother Nature may have lobbed a few curve balls their way, but to my knowledge, I have heard of no reports of this butterfly complaining.

And let’s consider the story of the prairie dog.

Not a dog by any means, but a very social animal who lives underground and who deals with adversity every day.  They are often scorned and attacked by humans, they are considered a tasty food source by many other species….yet the prairie dog seems very content.

 I have not seen any Prairie pupdates…no Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook posts lamenting their fate.

Nope- I just see their perky tiny faces standing tall by their small holes- arching their faces to the sun, and offering a call of warning to their tribe- to their coteries- if it appears danger is approaching.

Deep below the soil these social animals live banded together, living the best life a prairie dog might ever imagine.

It seems there are lessons offered from these unassuming creatures who share God’s great space with us.  

In our human arena, much of our adversities are self-selected. Our environment is often as harsh as we imagine it to be. We tend to take up space in the “WhatWas” and the “WhatWeThinkItShouldBe”.

When we dance around the present moment- we lose our balance.

It’s harder to catch that updraft and soar amongst the sunbeams. It’s a bit more difficult to feel the kiss of the Earth upon our cheeks. We may get distracted from our community- from our sense of being there for another.

The unassuming offer a footprint so deep and endearing that the very fabric of our life existence can be influenced and molded in sacred ways- if we just take note.

It’s not just survival of the soul- but an innate in-thrival of the soul- a knowing that all is well- that the Universe is conspiring on our behalf- if we can urge our eyes open  a little  wider, accept the gifts that Mother Nature offers, and allow any perception of lack to gently fall away.