animal spirits: praying mantis

one morning I decided to finally pull all the crab grass that took over the lavendar plant and to give the lavendar a trim so the walkway to the house was clear. I came upon a praying mantis in the lavendar. with fascination, i watched it be still during all the commotion of pulling the grab grass. The following morning I saw another praying mantis on my car and thought "this is a message!" and looked up its symbolism.

http://www.whats-your-sign.com/animal-symbolism-mantis.html


Praying Mantis Meanings in the Realms of Animal Symbolism

The mantis comes to us when we need peace, quiet and calm in our lives. Usually the mantis makes an appearance when we've flooded our lives with so much business, activity, or chaos that we can no longer hear the still small voice within us because of the external din we've created.

After observing this creature for any length of time you can see why the symbolism of the praying mantis deals with stillness and patience. The mantis takes her time, and lives her life at her own silent pace.

* Stillness
* Awareness
* Creativity
* Patience
* Mindful
* Calm
* Balance
* Intuition

These traits have lead the mantis to be a symbol of meditation and contemplation. In fact, in China, the mantis has long been honored for her mindful movements.

The mantis never makes a move unless she is 100% positive it is the right thing for her to do. This is a message to us to contemplate and be sure our minds and souls all agree together about the choices we are making in our lives.

Overwhelmingly in most cultures the mantis is a symbol of stillness. As such, she is an ambassador from the animal kingdom giving testimony to the benefits of meditation, and calming our minds.

An appearance from the mantis is a message to be still, go within, meditate, get quite and reach a place of calm. It may also a sign for you to be more mindful of the choices you are making and confirm that these choices are congruent.

my hands in dirt

i finally have a plant in my home office. pretty.

last week i repotted the house plants and spent the day outside getting fresh oxygen into my pneumonia infected lungs. i thought about listening to music while i worked outside but decided to enjoy the sounds of the neighborhood instead.... kids playing, birds, dogs barking, someone hammering, a lawn mower. it was nice to have my hands in the dirt instead of on some sort of digital technology for a few hours.

one early morning...

why fret when you can create music?

an e-mail to mom

dear mom,

you're insight on taking care of plants inspired me to take action when i came back from the philippines. i don't consider myself having a "green thumb" but like you said, there's no such thing as one. you said, "taking care of plants is like taking care of a baby. you can't expect a baby to grow up on it's own if you just sit it there. you have to give plants their basic needs of food, water and sunlight."

i re-potted all the plants in the house and even bought a few more we saw at the store that needed a good home. i even bought a plant stand exactly like the one you used to have in the bay window of the kitchen. you know, they don't make those anymore. i purchased it from someone who was selling theirs on the internet.

it's been an exciting experience watching all the plants grow new stems and leaves. i talk to them too. i like to encourage the new buds to grow and i welcome them to the world. i've noticed all the original plants are growing so much faster, especially with the new soil. i can't believe we were starving them all this time.

i've attached a photo of my indoor garden. i know you'll be proud. i am my mother's daughter :) i love you and miss you lots.

-neleh