Many moths are beautiful, but this one was particularly special. To me, what made him special was not his lovely colors, intricate form, or even the way he hovered so delicately above the edge of a flower. What made him special was the plant life I could see through the transparent patches in his wings. I marveled at the wisdom of his physical makeup, how easy it would be for a predator to miss a moth who could so easily blend into a woodland background.

Look at me. What do you see? Perhaps, you only see a tree and not the moth resting on one of the branches. Perhaps, you will only see the background and miss seeing me.

What was it Oz said to Dorothy? “Don’t pay any attention to that man behind the curtain.” In other words, only see what I want you to see, in this case, the formidable green apparition of a powerful wizard, instead of a meek, insecure, and fearful man.

Meditation

Like wings, life sometimes carries us to unexpected places, where danger lies in wait. The imprints these experiences have on our life can often leave invisible marks that impact the way we view and interact with our world. Interwoven together, our cumulative past shapes us and provides a foundation for future experiences.

This week, I finished the mini-series “Thirteen Reasons Why,” about a high school girl who left a series of tapes detailing the thirteen reasons why she had taken her own life.  This morning the series haunts me. I had difficulty watching it, especially the final episode which was far too realistic for comfort.

But that was the point, wasn’t it? Some experiences in life should never be comfortable. It should pain us that such tragedies exist, much less constitute a much more common experience existing on the fringes of our awareness.

The series has been the subject of much controversy. Some have said that it glamorizes suicide, while others have seen it as an exercise in finger-pointing at the expense of attention to serious underlying mental health issues.

But life is flawed anyway, is it not? Even our attempts to shed light on the ugliness just beneath the surface fall short of our own expectations. It is easier to find fault in the light than it is in the dark.

In the end, I hope we fight for a world that isn’t afraid to face our own failures because failure belongs to all of us.  Pain, domination, abuse, hopelessness, and the like are not isolated to the young but interwoven throughout every level of society. Just ask any homeless person. Or veteran. Or battered spouse. Or the frail and forgotten shut-in next door.

Perhaps, you will see beauty while I delicately hang on to life.

Perhaps, predator, you will look at me, but not see me.

Perhaps, friend, you will look at me, and not see me either.