Last week as I was walking down by the lake, I saw this dragonfly zooming around by the spillway. It was easy to see that one of his wings had been terribly damaged. Could it have been lost in a fight, eaten by a predator, or caught on something and torn away in the escape? The answer is a mystery, but the sight of this dragonfly was a source of inspiration.Despite the setback, this dragonfly could not only fly, it soared with the best of them. I watched it zip round and round from the fencepost to the tall grass to the water plants and back again. The only way I could take this picture was to watch long enough to trace the dragonfly's pattern, anticipate landing spots, and take multiple photographs in order to get a good shot. While I took photos, I thought of the many daily dangers the dragonfly faces in order to survive. Instinctively, this little dragonfly was able to carry on with life even after part of its very body had been ripped away. What choice did it have? Try to carry on and thrive or do nothing and become an item on a lunch menu? The dragonfly inspired me to carry on whenever possible.
*************************************************************************************
Last weekend, I attended my high school reunion. It has been almost 30 years since high school for us. Like that dragonfly, most of us appeared a bit worn around the edges. We all are still relatively young, but we could definitely see the changes in size around our middles, the gray in our hair, and the wrinkles in our faces. Many of us had traded in our cool shades and high heels for bifocals and comfortable shoes. Some of us have grown children and even grandchildren. Others, like myself, have never married, but have fulfilling lives just the same.
As we ate our delicious meal, we focused on happy memories, but we also mentioned dealing with stresses like illness, depression, divorce, and the loss of friends, teachers, and family members. We talked about the lessons learned from surviving those hard times. We talked about learning to get over our unrealistic expectations about ourselves and others. We talked about taking better care of ourselves and putting life into proper perspective.
The common lesson we had learned was to focus on blessings no matter how small and to throw out useless anger and petty drama in our lives. I left the reunion with a renewed sense of respect for my classmates. They were people just like me who had been through some rough patches in their lives. Despite the hardships, we were still trying to do the best we can to survive and thrive.
*************************************************************************************
As I write this, it is now July 4th, and we in the U.S. will celebrate Independence Day today. All throughout the country, people will attend cookouts, fireworks shows, parades, and family gatherings. I'll probably enjoy a nice day at home watching my neighbor's personal fireworks show from across the lake. I hope they don't set their pants on fire again like they did a few years back. :)
Like the dragonfly in this story, our country is still relatively young, but it has been through a lot of battles, hard times, and dangers throughout the years. We are still strong and generally healthy, but we might appear a bit scarred and scuffed around the edges, especially to those who view us from afar. Economic problems, political issues, world events, and internal societal troubles work to destroy us on both a national and personal level.
Although many of these are beyond our control, we can put things into perspective and work together with others in our communities to make good things happen. There are things we can do to improve our relations with other countries without losing the best qualities of American life. Remember to read history and learn how to repeat our successes and avoid our past mistakes.
So I take this moment to say Happy Birthday to my country. I love to see that the American flag is still flying after all these years!
