How to learn patience from cicadas
It’s been a slow, cautious entry into spring this year. Usually I’m not ready for it cause we never really get winter in Austin, and I love winter. But this year, after TWO big snow storms, including a crazy polar vortex that left us below freezing for days with no power and no water, I guess I’m ready for spring.
The problem is, it didn’t come at first. I saw a few signs of spring before the freeze, but those quickly died from the cold. After the freeze, everything, and I mean everything seemed dead. I resisted the urge to cut down and clear the ugly brown landscape because more experienced gardeners said to wait.
Just wait. Get used to ugly for awhile and let nature do its thing.
Because nature is so good at “doing it’s thing.” I know I should have more faith, and deep down I knew that the landscape would adapt somehow. But after a year full of disappointments, I wasn’t hopeful. That’s what spring is supposed to remind us of, hope, but I wasn’t there yet.
Watching the landscape slowly emerge over the next few weeks, I was constantly reminded of the importance of patience. Nature works on a timeline, but it’s a very LONG timeline that has spanned billions of years on this planet. As I see more and more green around me now, and more green than brown, my hope is returning.
Nature’s timeline makes me realize that one year of life as a brown, ugly landscape is not that long.
My son’s spirit animal is a cicada. He was at nature camp with me five summers ago, my first summer camp actually, and he had a moment with a cicada that stopped him in his tracks. Me and 10 other children all stopped and silently watched him pick up the cicada and put it on a tree. It was a short interaction, but it was magical. When we got home, I looked up the meaning of the cicada spirit animal. It was perfect for him. If you ever have an interaction like this, I highly recommend doing a quick search to find the organism’s meaning.
Annual Green Cicada freshly emerged.
These songstresses can teach you the commonly neglected art of communicating with yourself. Cicadas are strong communicators and inspire the same trait in people through their songs. They have a very distinct sound that is all their own, which symbolizes the need to channel your own voice and march to the beat of your own drum. The Cicada spiritual totems thus help you to understand and be in tune with yourself by aiding in uncovering deep truths and thoughts that have been forgotten. After putting you in touch with your own voice, they aid in connecting it with your most heartfelt desires.
We went on to learn about periodic cicadas, like the 17 year Brood X that is emerging this year. They lay their eggs on a plant, and the larvae emerge and crawl down into the soil, where they stay for 17 YEARS until they emerge. They then crawl up the tree, molt out of their exoskeleton, spread their beautiful wings, and enjoy a few weeks of life above ground. It’s truly amazing when you think about it. How do they know when to emerge? Why do they spend almost their entire life underground? Yes, they’re a bit gross, and ugly, and these red-eyed versions are kind of scary looking, but be patient. Take a moment to learn about things that seem ugly and scary. Gain insight into their life story and listen to what they have to teach you.
Amazing Cicada Life Cycle | Sir David Attenborough’s Life In the Undergrowth | BBC — YouTube
