It may seem strange, but during this morning's prayer, my attention was repeatedly distracted and drawn to the sound of the cicadas outside. I don't think I have ever really paid attention to the rhythm of cicadas before. It really is rather sing-songy. There are natural and rhythmic highs and lows that repeat, then suddenly change and go in another direction for a while, until it changes again and goes back to the original rhythm. I've decided that's it's a waltz. I can almost imagine the movement of the dancers, the sudden twist and change in direction as the theme changes, and the recapitulation.
Maybe there is something to this dance that fits with morning prayer. Without stretching the metaphor too much, prayer is all about joining the dance (as Michael preached about this past Sunday), of following the rhythm, noticing the change in the music and changing with it. There are times when I know I am off on my own, following my own thing, not paying attention to the dance. It's okay. Sometimes we have to wander just to remember what it's like. But it's good to get back to the dance.
P.S. just now, I found this little tidbit from the National Science Foundation about cicadas. Maybe I am not so far off in my thinking:
"The female signals to the male by using a wing flick signal. So when a male is singing...if a female wingflicks to the male in the dropoff part of the call, then the male will change his song....If the female still doesn't run away, he'll come up to her and start pawing her front legs and if she stays there, he'll change his song [again]...."
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