Slugs

Slugs; 

for the past several days, heading out on my sunrise walk, and I've first been greeted by slugs, or perhaps a single slug that lives in my yard. I have no idea of knowing, but it wouldn't surprise me as slugs can live for two years once mature, if able to avoid their natural predators. That would seem no easy task judging by appearance, slow moving, being without a shell, and with no obvious forms of defense or self protection. Yet nature is ever clever in its design, and slugs are able to harden their bodies, contracting into a ball and along with the mucus they produce, making them harder to grasp. Still they are a vital food source for many birds and animals, an important aspect of life, belonging fully within a seamless ecological structure. 

they're also often viewed as pest, destructive to gardens, and generally seen as gross, slimy, not beautiful or useful at all. I would agree on the slimy part, maybe even gross if forced to add a personal label to my description, or at least until not too long ago. Lately, for several years now, and I seem to be losing my sense of bias towards any creature, returning to my childhood sensitivity and innocence where everything belonged within a more magical world. 

every garden and yard contained an infinite mystery to be explored. 

I delight in seeing my visitors each morning, pausing to appreciate their awesome design, the beauty of their form and function. They've made it through the night, vulnerable, surviving to the moment that they greet me, and I wish them well on their continued journey, their dharma, whatever that might be. I am not familiar with the world of slugs, little knowledge of their behavior beyond what I've read in my recent and growing curiosity, sparked by their morning appearance at my door. But I know that everything has a dharma of their own, never small, as life is an endless circle of belonging, vast, yet infinitely connected by design. My pause and appreciation to their visit links me to them now, made more intimate by my observation and the short but heartfelt prayer I offer in greeting...

thank you, thank you, thank you.

for this moment of together. 

everything belongs. 

~ 

Peace, Eric