the season of insects
Summer is the season of insects. Earlier this year, I saw fireflies for the first time in my life. Now, the cicadas are beginning to sing (or scream, depending on your stance towards them). Lately, I've been feeling the strange urge to go bug catching. It's a classic Japanese summer vacation activity, mostly enjoyed by elementary schoolers, but I think it could be fun try (again). I remember catching grasshoppers and butterflies during summer vacation back in my home country. There seems to be a part of me that wants to re-live that experience, to tickle that part of my inner child.
Recently, I've also been fascinated by dragonflies. The sleek build of their bodies, their glass-like wings, their stillness when resting, their swiftness and maneuverability, their hunting prowess.
People often liken themselves to animals. Animals are a straightforward starting point to put one's self-image and worldview through a filter and imagine oneself anew, drawing on both the animal's actual features and our perceptions of them. Historically, the most popular "animal identities" have been those associated with traits like strength, power, authority, or beauty. Lions, wolves, bears, eagles, swans.
But what would it be like to "live like a dragonfly?" The first image that crosses my mind is that of a terribly efficient businessperson who senses every opportunity and moves to grasp it with deadly precision. That might explain my fascination, as that description is very far from what I'm usually all about. But leaving that interpretation aside, what remains is a sense of lightweightness, precision, and agility. These are traits that I find appealing about many (winged) insects. They seem so unburdened, even more so than birds, floating across the ground, blades of grass, and the water's surface. And even when they fall, they fall lightly, because of their low mass. I find myself thinking that it would be nice to traverse life in a similar fashion. Not disturbing the ground that I tread upon too much, doing what is necessary but taking life easy, and being quick on my feet. In that sense, I want to live like a dragonfly - or maybe a common grasshopper or a butterfly, if I want to be a bit more humble.