An interloper buzzes by as soon as my car door opens. I look over, and he’s doing exploratory bee work on the “Tech Field Day” bag sitting on the passenger seat.
I can’t hate, though. In that upright hovering stance, he’s pure magnificence with his contrasting black and yellow jacket body and those little legs. Usually, I’d never get such an up-close view of a bee without a zoomed-in camera or rough and tough scrapple. Yet, there he is. Too divine.
The exact moment I started crafting fictional narratives like “Surprise bee attack causes woman to die in an epic car crash on morning commute” the pending catastrophe was averted. Mr. Bee flittered out of one of the car windows I instinctually opened upon his arrival.
In times of clarity, I’m left screaming “ENOUGH!!!” to this “thank u, next” queue of unpalatable life circumstances for me to tackle and just embrace what is. Resisting undersirable life happenings, though, feels more familiar. Often, I delude myself into believing my inner peace is on the otherside of this obstacle. Michael Singer writes a lot about this in “Living Untethered.”
“There certainly are times when you’re not suffering, but the vast majority of what’s going on is you’re just trying to be okay. That’s what it boils down to. You will at some point realize that’s all you’ve done your entire life—try to be okay. “
Michael Singer’s “Living Untethered”
Honestly, is trying to be “okay” the best use of our energy? Also, my mind always wants to “start something.” The most worked-over somethings often flutter out of focus as quickly as Mr. Bee did.
Here I’ll check my privilege and acknowledge all perceived problems aren’t this benign. Enough issues are, though. The empowerment comes when we accept our freedom to choose where we focus our attention or reframe situations. Celebrating small victories like finding the divine in insect encounters is pretty dope, too.
Was this bee episode happenstance or a meaningful message? Who knows, but spotting the divine in the mundane brings me joy. Who doesn’t need more joy in their lives?