My camera has become an Important tool for my spiritual journey.  It teaches me many things.  It opens my soul to the beauty of the sunset and the radiance in a seashell.  My camera allows time to linger in the presence of a fleeting image of a glorious bird and become transfixed by a flower dancing on the breeze.  The lens helps me marvel at the majesty of a mountain and discover a deep relationship with a pill bug!  I am especially grateful that it allows me to re-learn delight in the smalls of life!

This image is from a brief encounter that Marlene and I had with a Armadillidium Vulgare during our recent vacation to the Rio Grande Valley.  When I was young I would while away many summer hours with the pill bugs in my neighborhood.  They ruled the gardens and wood piles of my childhood.  They could navigate the most treacherous ground and when threatened could retreat into a tiny round ball.   They refused to be captured and contained.  They could climb out of almost any trap.  They could even escape the infamous Ant Lion’s trap by rolling up and waiting for the Ant Lion to launch them out of the sand cone.  The humble Pill Bug brought hours of delight to a child exploring his world.

My camera has allowed me to rediscover this delight by not only reawakening my relationship with the pill bug but encouraging me to become even better acquainted.  After my encounter, I googled pill bug and learned many delightful facts.  The humble pill bug is a crustacean, not an insect.  It is more closely related to the shrimp than the bee. The Roly Poly has adapted to life on the land but continues to breathe through gills, but it cannot survive in water.  The females carry her eggs and newly hatched babies in a pouch on her underside just like kangaroos and other marsupials.  Finally, they are true blue-bloods, having crustacean blood that is based on copper rather than iron.

As I watched this delightful creature, I marveled at its agility with the rough terrain.  The pill bug underestimated one “boulder” and took a tumble on its back.  Without a single pause, the creature kept moving its legs, arched its back and promptly returned to right-side-up and continued on its way.  This critter demonstrated courage, determination, single-mindedness, imperturbability, and a joy for life in the moment.

But most of all, this humble little bug showed me that life can be full of delight if we will simply open ourselves to it.  It is not always the grand and spectacular that will open up our soul.  Even the smalls, the humble, minor moments in life allow the light of life to shine into the deeply shaded corners of our soul.  Through my camera lens, the joy of childhood, the wonder of creation, and a renewed understanding of what it takes to live the good life was all revealed in the delight inspired by a little spotted black bug on the trail.

Thank you, Armadillidium Vulgare!  You gave me a brief glimpse into the whispered presence of life itself.

Blessings,

Bob