Ladybug's Lair: June 2019

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Life Changes

Imagine being a barnacle: you begin life as microscopic one-eyed larvae that swims about with feathery legs., part of the plankton of the sea, floating freely, but at the mercies of the tides and currents. Before long, your body begins to change, so that you now resemble a small shrimp with a transparent umbrella attached to your back. Soon you feel the need to look for a place to settle down. Within the immense ocean, you feel attracted by specific chemicals, seeking to locate others of your kind, and search for a place to land. Crawling among the shells of other adult barnacles, you check out each nook and cranny until you find a spot that seems satisfactory. You find you can Produce a natural glue and attach yourself head-down. Taking calcium from the sea water, you form six hard plates around your body, walling yourself off from the rest of the world. For added protection, you make a 4-part door at the top of your shelter, which you can open and close at will. In a short 6 months or so, your body has undergone so much change that you no longer resemble your larval form, nor the shrimp-like creature you once were.

You are quite unique - upside down and permanently attached to your shell. You could not go anywhere, even if you wanted to. You now comb the water with your legs, filtering out the small bits of plankton for your meals. How on earth do you adjust and deal with all these changes?

Thank heavens, most of us don’t experience changes of this magnitude. Certainly, change is an ongoing part of life and we all have physical, mental, and emotional changes to adjust to over the course of our lifetimes. There are also myriad changes in the world around us, over which we have little, if any, control. So, how are we to navigate all these changes to our known, comfortable sphere? Consider the barnacle; Do you think it frets, worries and struggles against what has been preordained for its life? Or, does it simply go on, living with each change as best as it can? Perhaps we can learn something from this small, seemingly insignificant life form.

It helps, I think, to admit that changes are occurring, and that we are uncertain, frightened, and maybe even angered by them. It helps to ask for help to get through them. It certainly takes planning, commitment, and determination to weather change. Keep in mind, that we are never alone in these struggles to adapt. Life does, indeed, go on….