In no rush

"...We are much more than we are told. We are much more beautiful." - Eduardo Galeano, author and journalist from Uruguay

If I told this strangely solitary ant what I thought of it, would it care? Or did I get the insect's name right? It may be something else though. I didn't linger long enough to see if it was making its way back to its colony. Or if it's a real loner.

The first to recognize the ant's presence was my grandchild during an afternoon walk when the sun was kind and the fog didn't blur everything else. The Wee One does pay attention sharply to the natural world, and I have become her tag-along documentation assistant, always emerging from that walk enriched by the keenness of her observations.

She's napping as I compose this, and I wonder what new things her practiced eyes will show me later or even tomorrow. This novice that is me is in no rush.

Far from the madding colony

“Optimism does not mean continual happiness, glazed eyes and a fixed grin. When I talk about the desirability of optimism I do not mean that we should delude ourselves about reality. But practicing optimism does mean focusing more on the positive fall-out of an event than on the negative...I am not advocating the kind of optimism that means you blow all your savings on a horse running at a hundred to one; I am talking about being optimistic enough to sow some seeds in the hope that some of them will germinate and grow into flowers.” – Philippa Perry

You said it for me, Ms. Perry.

Just for that, allow me to hand you this image I saved from a walk. An ant's quiet persistence, alone and/or with a group, never fails to, well, inspire. It permits me to find reason to further perspire. Okay, ending today's entry right there before I'm arrested by the Word Porn Police.

Hey, little fella, I'm with you. Photo by Babeth Lolarga