Yes, the caterpillar was real. Long ago, he emerged in a backyard, abundant with apple trees, facing the deep blue waters off the coast of Maine. It is easy to use this image, taken with a macro lens, to see how an ordinary small thing becomes extraordinary—even hallowed.
Still, what returns to me is not the caterpillar but a tiny leaf clinging to a window. She holds fast even in the wind; perhaps it’s raining, and rivulets form irregular patterns on the glass, yet the small leaf stays… but attention? It is not given.
Let’s look again at her veins—the architecture within, where she is not fully colored, and where she is brilliant red. The leaf is a small thing, and when we make time to notice, including her willingness to abide by the window, we see more clearly. And then? Ah, we don’t merely see the leaf but the mystery, too.
And that? That is what makes a small thing holy. Perhaps even prayer.
Though you can't see it in email form, I’ve returned home to the site name that reflects my writing and my heart at 83 years—within weeks. I live among quiet things. Life’s thresholds brought the quiet, the simplicity, the time to do what I love. You are invited to visit the Among Quiet Things Website in its warmest glow, where tea steeps, and you are always welcome.
In gratitude,
About the Art
The Buddha & The Monk/Photograph
© 2004
Lee Anne Morgan
Once again, thank you for your call to beauty. Beauty is oh so important. It moves us, it refreshes us, it astonishes us, if we can see it. I have been nothing but lucky all my life that I have had the good fortune to live in places surrounded by beauty, and recognize that it has shaped me. I yearn for it, I work to protect it (the land, the flora, the fauna; the wild places) because I know what it gives me.
Also, I've been rearing monarch butterfly caterpillars for a few years, and am awestruck at each butterfly emerging. Every time the metamorphosis is a miracle. I love the caterpillars, beautiful, too; green, white and black. How do they go from a wormy thing, to a flying creature that is orange and white and black? Oh to be able to plant the seed of seeing in others. Thank you again and again for planting it in us!
PS Do you know the type of caterpillar whose photo you posted? I've never seen such a creature.
I love your caring examination of beauty in the simplest of things like a leaf often overlooked, and yet when we look closely, we find these simple things to be quite extraordinary. If we can just dial ourselves into a true state of awe for the magnificence around us, then we might prayerfully live life for its ubiquitous holiness. Thank you for sharing and allowing us to explore such depths.