Guest Post: "R.I.P."

R.I.P.
Originally uploaded by heywattsky

"S", this is a very Buddhist post...

"I found this perfectly intact (perfectly dead) praying mantis on my porch in November. We used to hang by the butterfly bush together, me sipping wine, she inspiring my awe and waiting for dinner. As a child, I was told never to kill one--it was against the law. Suburban myth or not, it instilled a sense of respect in me that has never dissipated. I brought this in and put it in a meditation area that I have, on a flat rock, for a few weeks over the holidays . Last week I inadvertently brushed my arm (in a sweater) against it, snagging it to me, and for a brief moment all I could do was freak out: "AAgghh! Bug on me!" So I gingerly picked her up and deposited her under my birdbath."