Impressions of a Butterfly's Wings

     Grandson "Magoo" ran into my office this morning exclaiming, "Nanny, two white butterflies just crashed into the window!" His eyes were bright with wonder and my curiosity was piqued so we ran together to see if they had crash landed in a crumpled heap on the deck floor. But no, there were no broken winged, lame lepidoptera and no explanations had to be rehearsed on how these things just happen sometimes.

     While we are looking for the bombardiers we noticed the faint, almost unnoticeable traces of wings on the glass door. If we hadn't known what had happened, those small wing prints would have been thought of as finger smudges worthy of Windex and a cloth. But since neither of us had ever seen butterfly wing impressions on a glass, we were in awe. 

     If you looked closely you could see the impressions of the wing's scales and powdery iridescence. Science says a butterfly can never repair its wing once it becomes damaged or torn, but what's so amazing is that we can repair those fragile wings with glue, patience and a steady hand. Hopefully these butterflies weren't damaged in their encounter with our door, but they did leave part of themselves behind for us to see.  

Impression of our butterfly encounter imprinted on the glass door.

     To reward our new butterfly friends and to prevent them from injury, we decided to place a saucer of orange juice on the deck, in hopes they would return. This reminds me of how each day as we go about our lives and our business we "brush" against the lives of others leaving an impression, much like the wings of a butterfly--just as others, we meet, leave impressions upon us in return. 

     These "butterfly-like" encounters are often not noticed--and if they are, we believe them to just be the daily smudge of life worthy to be "wiped" away because we are too busy, we are too stressed, and life is filled with too many electronic devices for us to notice human interaction. Although some encounters may be unpleasant, many are positive. The smile of the person facing us in traffic, the eye contact and thank you of a busy store clerk, the kind nod of a complete stranger. We are sometimes just too busy to allow small dustings of human kindness to touch us. 

     How different the world would be if we took more time to notice the small inflections and positive impressions others leave on our lives. Could we change the course of our day or the course of our lives if we took the time to notice? Could we change the course of someone else's life? I myself have been guilty of dashing through my day, through the lives of my family and friends and through meetings to let the butterfly's wings make an impression. Maybe today was food for thought; I will try to be more perceptive and I will try to touch others I meet with a kind word. I hope to replace that frown of concentration with a smile and I will watch for the kindness of others and be grateful they came into my life, if even for an instant as fleeting as the flight of a butterfly's wings. And, If I've broken a few wings along the way, I hope, with some "glue" of kindness, patience and a steady hand I can repair the damage so they can fly again.