Praying Mantis Wisdom

Warning: you are about to enter a long and rambling post!

Several weeks ago, I was working in the garden when I almost stepped on this lady.  In exchange for saving her life (read: not stepping on her) I made her pose for a photo session.  She wasn't overly pleased.

Since that day, I have continually come across praying mantis imagery on the internet.  So I asked myself, "what is this?  why am I seeing praying mantis everywhere?  is there a message for me here?"  Now you may think that seeing messages from the Universe is a little woo woo, but think of this: our subconscious minds often are aware of things that our busy conscious minds are not.  Sometimes our subconscious needs to send us a message and in a way that will make us pay attention.  I believe that this can happen with symbolism.  My subconscious said, "hey look at the all the praying mantis!"  Now these guys may have been all around before, but I didn't notice until my subconscious pointed them out.

Praying Mantis wisdom tells us to sit quiet and be aware of our surroundings.   The praying mantis stays very still and waits until she is absolutely positive before she makes the choice to pounce.  She is very patient.

This message comes to me at a very appropriate time (of course it does; my subconscious knows what I need).  This is a time of year where I tend to turn inward anyway; the days get short and dark and I hole up to think about my life.  A year ago, I was just hatching the idea of bringing a crochet reef here to SLC.  Since the beginning of 2011, I have been completely immersed in that project and in a deeper exploration of crochet in general.  The reef finally came to fruition, and opened Friday night.  (I promised you pics; they are here!)  I feel a sense of accomplishment that it really happened, amazement that a year has passed and the exhibit is up! and relief that this portion of the project has come to a close.

Now it's time for me to sit quiet and think about what I want to do next.  I have some choices to make, and like the praying mantis I need to be certain before I make decisions.  Art Every Day Month starts today too; I've decided to participate again this year, because this is the perfect tool for creative exploration.  I wasn't sure that I would have the time, but I need to make the time and use this as an opportunity to think about my next move.  I am not going to promise to post every single one of the thirty days which hath November, but I am going to try.  I may just post a photo some days.

I want to use this time to maybe do something other than crochet;)  Although, I really have become an addict and can't stray too far from hook and thread.  I do want to do some artsy play though!  I want to mix up color and cut out paper and glue it.  And!!! It's glitter season!  You know how I love to play with glitter:)

I have to start Art Every Day Month by cleaning up my studio, so I can find my paints and glitter.  All of the coral pieces are now over at the exhibit, but the floor is still carpeted in yarn.  And so, I am off to do just that:)