Vashka

Unspoken Wonder with Elders & The Outloud Wonder of Children and the Dancing Wonder Bees & Dragonflies

A little boy was being pushed by his big sister in a stroller he was much too old for, with a bunch of dolls tucked in back, while he sat, with his legs dangling off on the edge of the seat. The girl greeted me enthusiastically, and I returned the spark of joy. The little boy, eyes sparkling grinned at me and asked with great boldness, “Did you miss us?”

“Yes,” I said, which was true. I love this group of kids.

“We went to Poland for 24 days!” he said, explaining his absence, emphasizing the 24, which clearly showed the significance of the time he spent there.

“How was your trip to Poland?” I asked.

“Perrrrfect” came the sincere reply.

His big sister jogged up alongside the girl pushing the stroller and came up to me, beaming, as she usually is when I see her and vice versa. We are both unicorns, so it makes sense.

“Hi” she said, with lots of joy in her loving, light filled face. Immediately she noticed the lemon balm in a little white shiny pot that used hold an orchid I couldn’t properly care for, and now housed a gift for my friend down the street. “Who's that for?” she asked with unbridled interest. I told her, and she asked if she could bring it to my friend, who is also the parent of another child who plays with this group and loves unicorns to boot. At first I said no, I wanted to bring it myself, but I changed my mind. I could talk to my friend later. Who was I to deprive this child of the joy of bringing a gift to my friend, since she clearly really wanted to do so. “Well, actually, if it would give you joy to do it, go ahead,” I said, and off she ran, quite happily.

After hearing about the little boy’s trip to Poland, I remembered an interaction I had with his grandmother a few years ago. She spoke no English. But she saw me dancing and we struck up a joyful conversation of gesticulating and within a few minutes of pointing at various things taught me a few polish words as I pointed to things. During the course of our lovely connection, a dragonfly joined the dance and with the joy of a child she gestured in its direction and said, “Vashka.”

This is one of my two or three favorite memories of communicating with zero of minimal language overlap. The other top one is an experience I had meeting a Holy Woman in Peru. I’d been led to get on a certain car on the little tarmac-trains that carry you to the small-plane boarding areas. When I sat down, I knew I was going to give up my seat for someone but I didn’t know how or why. When I saw woman dressed traditionally, I immediately felt I was in the presence of someone extremely holy, and moved to give her my seat. She was a grandmother and her daughter and grandkids were with her, dressed in modern clothing. Never have I felt it more of an honor to give up my seat for an Elder.

When we got off the train, she tried to speak to me, but I didn’t understand. I assume she was speaking Quechua, because couldn’t understand a single word, and while my Spanish is choppy to say the least. I would have at least known a few words. Finally she just smiled, and motioned me in, and pulled me in for one of the best, holiest hugs I have received in my lifetime and maybe in many lifetimes. She made the sign of holding up a single hand, fingers all together, to her heart, like have a namaste, and I awkwardly tried to imitate, only hoping she would understand my intent, which I sensed she did.

Dragonflies. Transmission of the ineffable beyond language. Holy hugs. The innocence and wonder of kids.

Twice this week I saw something unusual.

A bee and a dragonfly simultaneously emerging in my consciousness. Twice I saw them both fly out in overlapping patterns, once branching off, the other intertwining.

Later, on a walk, I came across the gift of dragonfly wings laid on exactly on my path, as if the dragonfly left them for me on its way up to fly in the realms beyond.