The cicada molting
This morning, very early, sipping coffee on the deck, as I was trying to decide whether Dog-Dog would make a better purse or a pair of slippers (he woke us up very early), Kerri said, “What’s that?” Clinging to the corner post of the deck was a small thumb-sized alien. It was a cool blue green monster emerging from the splitting body of a very large red-brown scarab-esque bug. Had I not been so fascinated I would have squealed like a schoolgirl and called in Sigourney Weaver or the Air Force.
A quick Google identified the alien as a molting cicada (special note: for the next two hours we watched this miracle process. “Molting” is a word that must have been concocted by engineers or science-types; it is much too dull a word to describe the magic we witnessed. Shakespeare would never have arrived at “molting”).
A molting cicada is goldmine of metaphor and symbolism. Since I am human and believe the world revolves around me, I took the metaphors/symbols as personal messages. The most potent was the process of emerging wings. They first appeared as tiny useless rolls that unraveled. Once unfurled, the wings were fragile and useless. They flapped helplessly in the morning breeze. And then they seemed to dry and take shape. They shimmered. The cicada pulled them into its body, tested them, and crawled into the sun.
It rested. That was the reinforcement of a hard-learned message for me. Between each step, the cicada rested. Transformation is exhausting. It did not rush the process. It was not in a hurry to “get there.” It moved through a phase and rested. Each step happened as it needed to happen and rest was essential to each step. It pulled itself from the exoskeleton at just the right moment. It sat still, it rested, as its wings took form and “dried.” Once it had new form, it walked to a more protected spot and sat very still. Its body still soft and needing to harden, it rested.
I do not easily rest. I am reticent to sit still and have had to learn the necessity of rest for transformation to be possible. Rest is part of the process of moving forward. Sitting still is essential to growth. Many times in my life I have argued with school boards for the necessity of daydreaming, the importance of staring out the window. Rest your mind. Relax your heart. Sit still and breathe.
Before and After
It is no small feat to exit a too-small-body. It is no small feat to step into uncertainty, to open yourself to new ways of being. Rest is necessary to inhabit your dreams.
Tom used to say, “The readiness is all.” He knew that transformation was possible only when the person was prepared to jump. “The inner work always leads the outer.” Getting ready to jump often looks a lot like doing nothing. Resting allows the wings to dry. Wings need to dry before they are useful. After the jump it is a good idea to sit still and get used to the new body. Stare out the window with new eyes. Discover the new daydream. Rest in the miracle of new space.
Seeker, Learner, Leader, Creator…You.Or. go here (Amazon) for hard copies.
Filed under: Metaphor, Truly Powerful People | Tagged: cicada, readiness, rest, transformation |
The Direction of Intention 
Hello David,
I’m Lauren. Thank you for what you do on this blog. I have been going through my own process of difficult but wondrous transformation over the last two years. I’m coming up on a significant milestone anniversary, marking said journey, on July 5. Your blog has long been an awesome guidepost, reminder, advisor, inspiration, etc., but today!!!! You have really outdone yourself. Since I haven’t spoken up until now, I’m not going to be able to properly convey what that means, but,
I offer you my sincerest thanks for the work that you do. You embrace a clean and creative lifestyle, one of accepting the challenges that come with going after out dreams, and I can’t think of a more perfect illustration of that than this post.
It seems simple, even a little sensational: a bug. On a deck. On an average morning. (Side note: obsessed with your hilarious aside about Dog Dog. And the name Dog Dog!) you have made the truly grotesque (if I were there Sigourney would be on speed dial!!) into a brilliant, beautiful allegory. Instead of scrolling past the photos and gagging (as, I’ll admit, I did with the first one!), once you mentioned the truly beautifully written process of the wings, I was able to approach the photos with a gentle curiosity, then a fascination, and finally, a loving and gentle appreciation and identification.
Yeah, I know, me, identifying with a bug!? My wryly nicknamed “hippiedom” (my best friends have been at times interested and fed up with my transformation, but always lovingly supportive even if they don’t ‘get it’) must have taken a final nutty turn.
But this passage!!! > > Between each step, the cicada rested. Transformation is exhausting. It did not rush the process. It was not in a hurry to “get there.” It moved through a phase and rested. Each step happened as it needed to happen and rest was essential to each step. > > … > >> >>> Its body still soft and needing to harden, it rested >>> >
Oops, formatting.
But I’m sitting on a train shouting inside, going, “YES! The wings need to dry!!!!”
Because this perfectly describes what I’m on the crux of – learning to relax! I’ve worked hard on yoga and meditation, but those always get sadly bifurcated from my “work” life. No longer! You really sealed my resolve to relax with this post, putting into words a lot of lessons and journey that has come over some time.
I also feel compelled to send this along to a lot of friends who walk beside me in this journey.
Very nicely done, and thank you so much for all you do and being in my inbox every morning. It’s one of the few emails I read in my morning “spiritual/inspiring reading” block, and I greatly appreciate them because we seem to be on the same wavelength, but you perhaps a few years or steps or lessons ahead of me. I appreciate you sharing the wisdom of your path in the easy, succinct way that you do.
Thank you again and keep ’em coming. I will try and write more often to share my identification with and appreciation of your words.
Take care and thank you! Lauren
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Beautiful, and rich with meaning to last a lifetime.