Lessons from a Bee

Ah nature!  Smell the rain.  See the beauty that surrounds us.  The dew in the early morning that adorns the grass.  The rambunctious twitter of quarreling Sparrows.   The focused Bee zipping from flower to flower hard at work.  Nature is God’s lesson book for us.  We can learn much from the intricate balance of nature if we pay attention.

Is there something you want to accomplish in your life?   Do you have dreams or goals?   Most of us do.  Whether it is becoming a new breed of super hero with genetic implants or a better Beiber we all strive to leave our mark in this world (hopefully one without traces blood or human waste).

But…

There is a dangerous misconception that if we attempt something we should succeed or at the least it should be an easy road to success.  Our desires are not a direct line to accomplishment.  This becomes more complicated if we have a natural gifting in an area.  But the same principle remains.  Desire coupled with natural talent does not equal success.  There is another essential ingredient.  Effort.

To master something, to be efficient or a success at whatever it is we have chosen takes a great deal of effort.  This is the sweaty, dirty, frustrating and exhausting part.  The behind the scenes ugly stuff no one wants to know about.  We want to read a good, polished book not a rough draft.  We don’t even want to know that the author had to edit the manuscript several times.  We want to watch a musical production and see everyone hitting the proper notes and knowing their lines.  We don’t want to buy tickets for the dress rehearsal.  Would you pay money for a  product that hadn’t been tested and perfected? I hope the answer is no.

Look at the life of the honey bee.  The Queen bee lays her eggs in a six sided cell filled with pollen and honey as a food source.  The top is sealed with wax. When the food source runs out the time has come for the little bees to enter the world.  Before they can do that they must find a way out.  The wax top is so hard the bees are only able to make a tiny hole to escape from.  The process of escape actually rubs off the outer membrane encasing the wings.  This part, though painful and exhausting is essential.  It is in the process of shedding the membrane that the bee’s wings are strengthened enough to use them to fly.

If someone came along and poked holes in the honeycomb the bees could easily escape but without the ability to fly.

Success comes from effort.

Today I am going to choose to sweat over my writing.  I will force myself to write even though I see no point, no light at the end of my tunnel.  I will do this because I understand I must if I am ever going to reach the summit of my goals.

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