In these times when geography becomes virtual

And developers urbanize the earth,

May the gardener continue to hold true ground,

Keeping the intimate knowing of the clay and nature’s benefactors alive,

Nourishing us with the fruits  and flowers of the earth,

Serving as custodian of that precious threshold

Where the rhythm of nature with its serene pulse

And sublime patience sustains our bodies and restores our minds.

~Edited and adapted excerpt from a book of blessings

by John O’Donohue, Irish poet, philosopher, and scholar

The blue-eyed beauty in the photo is not a dragonfly.  It is a spread wing damselfly, but it certainly looks like it might have been something loosed from heaven like Rossetti’s dragonfly.  Its eyes were strikingly blue as was the juncture between its wings and the very tip of its tail, but sadly at dusk my camera insisted on popping up the flash which washed out the blueness a bit.  It wasn’t faded enough however for me not to be thankful that on the 5th day with the birthing of earth’s creatures came the senses–seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching.  Now colors and the lights of the sun, moon, and stars could be seen.  The wind, rain, and crashing of waves could be heard.  The earth’s aromas and fragrances could be smelled, it fruits tasted, and its textures touched.  Columbanus, a 6th century Irish monk, went so far as to say, “If you wish to know the Creator, come to know His creatures.”  The knowing we should hope to achieve is not a knowing that comes only through our sighted eyes and intellect; it should also come through our God-given senses and from looking at Creation with the eyes of our hearts.  All facets of Creation and everything we’ve been given to sustain life here are pieces of the puzzle of God’s mystery.  Taking a look at all that He made, knowing what He values, and reverencing what God brought into being is a way of knowing more of Him.

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. . .”  ~Job 12:7-8