Insect diversity would be missing if neighbors sprayed round up to grow perfectly green lawns. The bug eating bat family living in the eaves of my roof would be devastated. I try to take extra care of this wild place that so many call home. No matter how careful, I am still a giant in comparison. I squash so many creatures just moving through the world at high speeds. I walk gently as a giant can, seeing, appreciating and wondering about the meaning of life and the purpose hidden in these tiny, crunchy bodies.
How do I take care of this body that I call home? What does radical self-care look like? For me it involves moving my body to stay sane, feeling my growing edges, and refueling. Dancing is my therapy and it requires me to make big, bold and unexpected movements, but it also involves finding stillness and deep rest. When I close my eyes I can feel my limbs like a grasshopper, with sharp right angles and power in my well-oiled joints. I can leap and jump freely. When I dance I feel my world expand, yet I am reminded of how fragile this human body is.
I am finding joy in nature and wisdom in bugs. I have been busy investigating metamorphosis- this bug-like changing from the inside out, in my own movement practice. It is in the stillness of the cocoon that subtle adjustments take place. Bug belly cells migrate to bug eyes. Leg cells become brand new butterfly wings. Insects completely reorganize themselves. What kind of metamorphosis does the mind and spirit go through when the body changes shape? What happens to your mind and spirit when you engage in movement?
I invite you to join me in this opportunity to explore the slow unfurling of wings, the shedding of skin and the transformational capacity of insect bodies, as well as your own body. How can you become more of the being you are meant to be? How can you access this power to organically transform your own life?