The Lesson Learned from the Bees

The Lesson Learned from the Bees

When I was a little girl I lived in Fords, New Jersey. We had a beautiful two-story red brick house on a corner lot, with lots of room for pine trees, a red maple tree, a front and back yard, a graceful weeping willow in the back, an enclosed back porch. My mother did some gardening and has passed on that love to me.

She had a small rock garden by the side of the house, beneath the red maple, where she planted lusciously velvety-looking pansies, marigolds with their heady, pungent aromas, tiny violets, and sweet-smelling, delicate lillies-of-the-valley. Sometimes I'd have lunch nestled up in the crook of one of the large limbs of the maple tree. I loved her rock garden and have consequently come to love the flowers she grew there.

In the back yard she had a rose garden. I loved to wander through the rose garden and smell all the fragrances of the varieties of roses. The rose garden was frequented by many honeybees.

I didn't like bees, because to my five-year-old mind, they were mean insects because they could sting you. Some of my neighbor friends (other little kids) used to catch bees in a jar, so I decided one day to do that, too. It was daring and dangerous, because there was always the potential for getting stung--and that was what attracted me to doing this, and fascinated me. The first bee or two that was caught was easy; after that it became tricky because one had to open the jar to catch the next one, without letting any of the captured ones escape. Any that escaped would be angry and might sting me--this was what made the whole operation so "dangerous."

After my first experience with this daring and dangerous occupation, (and having survived without getting stung) whenever I was out in the backyard and bored, I'd go get a jar and catch bees, and I kept them in there till they died. I was five years old; I didn't know any better. My parents never told me I shouldn't do this, that bees were valuable insects that are important in nature because they help pollinate flowers. They didn't deserve to die captured in a jar.

I am not proud of this memory. In fact, I now feel badly for what I did; there is an ache in my heart. I wish someone had told me why this was not a good thing to do. I wish someone had told me about all the good things that bees do, why they are important in nature and should be respected.

I feel very deeply for all creatures now--even insects--so much so that I try to never harm any. They are all miracles of life in the Universe. They all serve some function; all are a part of the web of life. When I find bugs or insects in my house--even spiders, ants, flies--you name it--I always try to carefully trap them alive and release them unharmed back outside. This helps me to assuage the guilt I feel for my ignorance as a child. I don't think it makes up for what I did as a child, but I remind myself that I didn't know any better and I forgive myself.

What have you done in your past that needs your forgiveness? Be kind and gentle to yourself. You did the best you could in the moment, given your set of circumstances, and what you had to work with at the time. Forgive yourself and love yourself; we are all children of the Universe.

Love,

Marcy