Dragonflies

Have you noticed how many dragonflies there are this year? I heard the City of Edmonton had released a bunch to help control the mosquito population but we were out at Beaverhill yesterday and there were an unusually large number of them there as well.

I'm quite fascinated with dragonflies these day with them being my symbol of choice and all. One of the symbolic meanings of the dragonfly is dispelling self-created illusions which is what so much of my work is about. As I was pondering why there were so many dragonflies this year it occurred to me that, of course, the conditions have been perfect for them to propagate this year with all the rain we've had.

Did you know that dragonflies start life out as water bugs? Then at some point an inner calling directs them to climb up the reeds that grow in ponds and marshes and once out of the water they dry and eventually those beautiful iridescent wings spread and off they go on dragonfly adventures. The fact that they eat mosquitoes is one of the reasons we love them so much along with their beauty and grace.

OK so I can't help but appreciate the fabulous metaphysics in all this. When the conditions are right for us we too climb out of our wet little ponds of self identity and eventually learn to fly when we are no longer encumbered by the beliefs that keep us mired in the swamps. We can not only learn to fly  but we can also learn to allow those pesky memories (mosquitoes) to be nurturing food for the soul instead of seeing them as annoyances we just want to get rid of. So perfect!

I love metaphor!

Namaste