A mind came upon a wall
and the wall necessitated separation.
That same mind came upon some
people of a different skin color…
and the “learned psychological prejudice”
necessitated separation.
Now here is the tricky bit:
The first separation was
natural and factual.
The second separation was
manmade and illusory.
A lot of people were taught to
look through psychological walls
of separation.
It’s so easy to deceive oneself,
to see what one was
programmed to see.
One man looked at a tree,
and only existed as an image of a “re-cognized,” distant tree,
supposedly separated from a learned image of “self,” apart
from everything else.
Another man looked at the same tree,
and there was, beyond stored images,
a bonding, blending, and sharing.
Bonding … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 
Different color, beautiful.
Thanks, CC! 🙂
They only (in this adult stage) for a day.
It is incredible how hard it is to overlook what we have been primed to see. Nice pic Tom—Peace
Yes, Jim, most people only perceive what they were taught to (primitively) see, unfortunately.
Wow! Beautiful winged creature! What is it Tom?
It’s a Mayfly. They usually come out in April or May. The adult stage only lasts a few hours. Underwater, as nymphs, they live much longer. Since we live on the river, we see lots of them. Around one or two days a year, our house gets covered with thousands of them (all at once)! 🙂
I recognize that insect – when I worked at the diner which was painted white, for a few weeks, I’d go into work in the Summer and they’d be clinging all over the restaurant. My boss would say “hurry, close the door – don’t let them in” … do you ever see the pictures of people’s tires sliding on them in the street? That’s amazingly close-up for the fishfly.
Our house is on a river and sometimes gets covered with them! There must have been a lake, river, creek, or pond near to the diner. The nymphs live in water and the flying adult stage only lives for mere hours. We call them Mayflies here. Many fish-fly lures are designed to look like them. Fish go nuts for the insects.
I know them as mayflies too, but here in Michigan I only hear that it’s “fishfly time” or “ugh!!” … the pictures in our local newspaper of all the fishflies buzzing around an ATM machine. Have you ever seen those pictures Tom? The diner was not near the water – I’d say about two miles from the Detroit River, but I think the attraction was the totally white building and it was open 24/7 and they had it lit up like a Christmas tree. My boss was always watching the front door to ensure no one brought them inside the restaurant on their clothes. The fishflies I’m okay with landing on me – a spider, I would have a bit of a meltdown. 🙂 I have a former co-worker that is an avid flyfisherman and he makes/ties flies and sells them at fishing shows and he makes mayflies.
Many years ago, when i was way younger and used to fish, i used to tie my own fishing flies.
I think Mayflies are declining in numbers now, as are many insects and creatures of nature.
Taught, and conditioned, and these days propagandised too, we have been slow to free ourselves. Great post Tom.
Very slow indeed, Paul. I still can’t believe how many of my relatives, in-laws, and neighbors are out-and-out racists. Very creepy to me and very nightmarish in a surreal way. Damn insane really! I should have stayed in Canada, where the people (in the area i was in) were more intelligent; but, then, i would never have met my wife (who is definitely not a racist). We tend to keep to ourselves these days. Thank you, Paul. 🙂
I get that, yes a struggle
Great intuitive insight Tom! 🙂 Reality vs. blind realism! Sadly, many people prefer to ingest poison and refuse an antidote, regardless of the consequences of death. 😦 Sad!
Thanks much, Kym! 🙂
There’s a lot of miseducated people out there, looking with delusion/hate.
I know what you mean Tom. So sad! 😦
Nice shot of the delicate beauty of a mayfly.
Thank you, SB! 🙂
Though they swarm in large masses, it seems that their numbers are dwindling more and more each year.
Beautiful image and I love what you wrote, very profound.
Much appreciated, Laura! 🙂
Hi Tom – I thought of you when I heard this story – a little smile for you and Marla: https://people.com/pets/parrot-orders-gifts-amazon-alexa-speaker/
That’s very funny! Thanks, Linda! 🙂 Many years ago, when I was much younger, one of the parrots kept saying “Hello, how are you?” through a window in the summer. People doing the roofing next door thought that it was a person repeatedly talking to them… until they realized it was a parrot. 🙂
Nicely expressed.