By Nat Warren-White
William Blake presciently wrote:
“To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour....
Man was made for Joy & Woe
And when this we rightly know
Thro the World we safely go
Joy & Woe are woven fine
A Clothing for the soul divine
Under every grief & pine
Runs a joy with silken twine”
Over the 6 weeks, since we first arrived in the small village of Hana on the east side of the Hawaiian island of Maui, I have been blessed with daily adventures with my 4-year-old grandson, Diego. We trek along the barren volcanic shores pounded by endless Pacific surf. Some days he “shouts louder than the sea” and I join him. Every day he finds treasures (a rock, a crab shell, a discarded piece of particle board, an old chunk of black pvc pipe) hidden in the rocks and grass. He carries them with him for hours studying and proclaiming their infinite splendor. When we get home, we build mobiles, birds, make swings and decorate the table with his finds.
Today the leading treasure is a ladybug. By the time we reach home base he has found 3 of them, “2 Big, 1 Baby.” The first one he discovers clinging to a long blade of grass on our way to the shore in the fields where the bulls and horses graze and through which we trek on our daily mission. He carefully carries the “Big One” down to his favorite scrabble of a tree clinging to the black rocks just above the tide line. He climbs the tree and gently releases the “Big Ladybug” onto a branch and encourages “him” to make a new home on foreign land. The ladybug gamely climbs the dead limb and looks quite happy there toddling along.
Later, after exploring the other end of the beach and as we prepare to head home, Diego insists we go back to the tree to check on his friend. The ladybug is nowhere to be found. I assure him that s/he is probably out finding some supper, which is what we need to do too.
On the way back up crossing the field, he finds two more ladybugs and he carries them back to the house, where he carefully places them on a piece of driftwood. Watching them crawl around, he declares “I really like playing with these ladybugs. It’s very peaceful.”
It’s this mindful moment, the close connection to nature and seeing it through Diego’s innocent eyes, that offers me a glimmer of light in these dark days.
Truly, “under every grief and pine runs a joy with silken twine.” William Blake and Diego both know this. I can learn it again too...but only if I slow down enough to pay attention to what is real and vital and right before my eyes.
A Golden Civilization and our mutual salvation depend on our ability to move from a reactive state of being to one where we can open our eyes and hearts and minds paying close attention to what is unfolding before us and then choosing “right action” as we move carefully forward together.
Today Diego found another ladybug in the grass on our way home from the “Shore School.” He held it gently in his hand for a few minutes, delighted in closely observing as it crawled up his arm, then let it go. “Maybe we’ll see him again tomorrow!” he told me hopefully. When we got back to the house he drew a picture of it and shared it joyfully with his parents and grandmother.
