There I was, walking in the woods, not bothering anyone, when—ZZzzzt—out of nowhere a large insect dive-bombed into my neck and stung. It was a large insect, so the impact alone stunned me. Then the sharp sting. It happened so fast and hurt so much, I didn’t see what kind of insect it was. It struck and then buzzed off, literally.
I gasped at the sharp, pain. Ow!
I stopped. I’ve never been allergic to insect stings, but you never know when that might start, and the sting was on my neck where swelling would be dangerous. I was alone and far enough away from home that a serious allergic reaction would have meant big trouble.
I waited to see if there would be swelling, and there wasn’t, so I carried on. No biggie, right?
But the unexpected attack set me to pondering the fragility of our daily lives, and how sudden, unforeseen events sometimes turn best-laid plans upside down. There we are, walking along, not bothering anyone, when—ZZzzzt—catastrophe dive-bombs in. Impact. Sting.
When those things happen, I re-evaluate what is important. Have I showed my kids that I love them today? What was the last thing I said to my husband when he left in the morning? What will I do today to make the world a better place?
I didn’t know what happened to that large insect to make it so angry before it performed its airstrike on me. Perhaps a dog-walker disturbed it? Maybe nothing happened to it, and I simply had the misfortune to encounter the Oscar the Grouch of the insect world.
I did know that asking “Why me?” would be a waste time. Why not me?
The only thing to do when ZZzzzt happens is to stop, wait, re-evaluate and carry on with new mindfulness of what is really important.
I love the title of your post!
Thanks, I’ve had a few compliments on the title so far. It’s good to have a little fun sometimes.
Ya, the title is really clever, with reference to Muhammad Ali’s famous “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee…” who probably never expected to be struck with Parkinson’s disease, but yep, ZZzzzt happens… even to the champion of the world! (But I am sorry it happened to you. Dang that must have hurt. Hope you’re ok. )
I just read a few more Muhammad Ali quotes. Some of them are really good. Thanks for your posts. They really make us think.
Given the choice between having a butterfly float by and being stung by a bee, I’d take the butterfly!
Thanks for you support.