off-balance ... confused.
Actually ... the whole weekend had been a little awkward and uncomfortable ... as it often is when emotions that have been hidden away for a long time ... start demanding to be seen ... to be heard ... to be dealt with ... once and for all.
So as we were ... settling into the car ... on our way to pick up burgers for lunch. I turned the key and looked up. There he was ... perched prominently on the windshield ... with his back to me ... hopping a ride ... as if to say ...
you don't matter ...
Yeah ... like I needed the grasshopper to tell me ... that ...
I didn't matter.
Jessi & Donald got really excited about the grasshopper on the windshield. They thought it was very cool ... and as we rode along ... they got more & more tickled by him.
Not sure how I know it was a "him" ... somehow I can't seem to imagine a grasshopper being a "she" ... but there must be some of both, I guess ... or the world would be devoid of grasshoppers.
As we rode down the highway between Ward & Cabot ... we were traveling at speeds that are common on secondary roads ... outside the city limits. And the silly grasshopper ... just sat there ... enjoying the scenery ... and the ride.
I imagined him feeling the wind blowing his hair back ... totally abandoned to the moment. As if grasshoppers have hair.
I don't know much about grasshoppers. My first thought was of Jiminy Cricket. But he was ... a cricket ... not a grasshopper. Crickets are somewhat related to grasshoppers ... but not really.
Crickets are mostly know for incessant chirping ... music to some ... annoyance to others. Fighting, partying all night & "plowing a lot of fields" as one friend commonly referred to it.
So, you see. There is a difference.
Grasshoppers make up their own dance steps and groove to their own special melody. Moving to it's own unique rhythm and tune makes the grasshopper an advocate of intuition ... reminding us to listen to our inner voices. He encourages us to listen to the stirrings of our hearts ... to act on our promptings.
Grasshoppers pretty much keep to the ground. And they teach us things about being grounded like patience, stability, security. So it was pretty darn amazing that he was up there on my windshield ... enjoying the ride.
Guess someone told him it was time for him to ... go. Or maybe He was telling me ... again.
Grasshoppers choose to visit those of us who are innovators, forward thinkers & those who progress through life in unorthodox manners. I didn't make that up. I found it ... and a lot more ... when I googled about grasshopper lore .
Grasshoppers recognize tremendous leaps of faith, impressive jumps ahead and constant forward momentum. Wow!
... and to think, this grasshopper choose me ... and my windshield ... for his Sunday afternoon drive.
Maybe his riding with his back to me really had nothing to do with indifference. Maybe he was just wanting me to figure it out for myself. Reminds me of the old sled dog joke ... about the view never changing unless you are the lead dog ... not sure why ... guess maybe ... it has to do with a change in scenery ... or a new view on things ... perhaps.
He rode along for quite some time ... taking it all in ... before choosing his spot ... to hop off ... into a new place ... that looked promising to him ... somehow.
The choices before me ... at the moment ... are much like that ... each one will involve a great leap ... into new & unfamiliar territory.
Grasshoppers have two large eyes ... and three smaller eyes. The large compound eyes are made up of many separate lenses ... that all work together ... to form the big picture. Those are the eyes the grasshopper uses to see things.
Scientists aren't sure how a grasshopper uses it's smaller eyes.
Maybe those smaller eyes are the ones that look inward ... seeing things intuitively ... beyond what the concrete world holds ... seeing the world with childlike wonder.
According to legend ... grasshoppers show up when we are longing for adventure ...when are ready to get out of the rut we've been stuck in ... when we are ready to find a little magic.
Pretty sure it was no coincidence that grasshopper showed up on my windshield ... exactly when I needed ... a word of encouragement.
I don't believe in coincidences ... everyone who knows me ... knows that.
Good luck and happiness ... to the Chinese. Nobility and immortality ... to the Greek. Messages of glad tidings ... to the Native American. Seriously. Grasshoppers are harbingers of good news ... and the person who crosses paths with a grasshopper will receive "profoundly joyful news".
Things are unfolding ... gradually ... neatly ... without fanfare ... the way things that have real meaning are want to do.
Impatiently ... has given way to ... patiently ... waiting ... for what's coming next.
You're almost there, MJ ... get ready to jump!
(c) August 2011
