Lesson from a bumble bee

A honeybee at work

An email arrived telling about a bumble bee.

It is said that a bumble bee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will die unless it is rescued. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the glass sides near the bottom. It will seek an exit where none exists, until it is exhausted.

Sometimes we are like the bumblebee. We find ourselves struggling against adversity and disappointment, too often looking for escape where there is none. Yet it is true that very often all we need to do is look up – literally and figuratively.

“Looking up” can have the meaning of looking beyond ourselves to what one friend fondly calls “the Higher Power.” She finds answers there too. She hears messages of comfort, patience, courage, and practical ideas for going forward.

The email concluded with this little reminder:
Sorrow looks back,
Worry looks around,
Faith looks up!

Why not expect good?

Who will stop

to admire this delicate beauty?

Have you ever looked right at someone you should have known, and not recognized that person? Perhaps you were in another state or another country and saw someone from home, but were slow to make the identity connection because you weren’t expecting to see him or her.

It happens.

The same animal trainer quoted in a recent blog tells of another horse, Pennies. This one was a hard-core bolter. Whenever anyone mounted him and asked him to move, he took off at a dead run.

Vicki Hearne understood how to communicate with Pennies, and showed him his innate dignity and graceful control of himself. As mentioned before, when his family came after a week to check on his progress, they did not even recognize the animal calmly trotting past them as their own.

It has to do with expectancy, doesn’t it? Even hope. They were looking for last week’s difficult horse. And they were not expecting their pet to be unruffled and composed, at least not so soon.

When we are trying to solve a difficulty - relationship, circumstance - are we expecting last week's obstinancy? Dare we hope for progress so soon?

You may remember the story where Jesus healed a blind beggar, and the man’s neighbors had a hard time recognizing him. Some asked, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”

Others said, “No, but he does kind of resemble him.”

The former beggar joyfully exclaimed, “I am the man!” Jesus had showed him his wholeness.

The people mentioned here (horse trainer and Jesus) who initiated transformation were expecting good. And they saw the results of their expectations.

So we may well ask, Why shouldn’t we be expecting good? If we can agree that the creator of the universe is good, then good is real, natural, and present. And we don't have to feel helpless in the face of nasty politics, fragile economy, or personal wrestlings. Recognizing and valuing our own innate goodness we can to some degree often show others their goodness too.

Good is more prevalent than we realize. Just for fun, and by way of challenging the evening news, I made a quick list of good things I could think of just for this day. I stopped somewhere in the twenties, with a big smile, in order to continue writing this blog.

I highly recommend making such a list. It keeps life in proper perspective – where what’s innately right and excellent and cheerful in our lives is recognized as our present substance.