In the wee hours of the early morning darkness, I sat in my chair to focus on my breath. I felt pretty good when the timer went off after 15 minutes. But when I stood up, I glanced to my left and noticed something out of the ordinary. There was a giant praying mantis on my shoulder!
My heart rate skyrocketed. Don’t make any sudden movements, I thought.
How on Earth did it end up on my shoulder?
I went on a short walk outside just prior, and he must have fallen on me (or deliberately flew to me). I’m glad I didn’t squish him when I sat in my chair. He measured about 3″ long and had wings. Fun fact: in general, only male mantises have wings in adulthood.
Some Cultures See Mantises as Symbols of Stillness
After chatting with a coworker about this funny incident, they did some googling and found mantises symbolize stillness and meditation in many cultures. How appropriate! If any insect is going to meditate with me, it should be a praying mantis. Mantises are ambush predators that like to sit still and blend in with their surroundings until an unknowing insect walks by.
Have I reached a level of enlightenment by meditating with a praying mantis? Maybe, or it was just a fun coincidence.
I decided to release him back into the world after keeping him for 24 hours in a little container. I was scared to put him on my hand, but I decided to take the risk and see how it went. It was pretty cool. They are incredibly lightweight and seem to have an uncanny intelligence about them. No biting happened, and no scratches.
Maybe I learned a valuable lesson: when we’re scared to do something and do it anyway, it’s more often not as bad as we thought.
Cheers, mantis friend.