The scene unfolded when I took just a few seconds to step away from the chaos. Teaching 8th graders how to cook in the backcountry can be…stressful. So many hands. So many ideas.
Once I got the team on the right track, it was time for me, as a leader, to step away. I couldn’t go far, but I needed to let them figure things out on their own. Plus, the other leaders were with the students too, so I had a small window to just…breathe.
The oddity of walking without a backpack hit me. A strange feeling of freedom settled in. “Just a little bit further,” I thought, hopping over a mountain stream and scrambling over boulders to a vantage point where I hoped to see the entire valley.
And then I saw this:
Tiny ladybugs On rocks, sticks, branches, trees, everywhere. It looked like millions of them. For a moment, I felt like I’d discovered a secret sanctuary, a hidden retreat of this tiny species. Turns out it’s called aggregating, basically ladybug mating season.
Do yourself a favor this weekend. Step away from the chaos, even for a second. On an elevator, the subway, or while drinking from a fountain. Just pause. Things will be fine. Tell yourself you can do it. Then turn around and jump back in.
Because that’s life: chaos and beauty, all tangled together, and every now and then, a moment that makes you stop and marvel.