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| Cypress Creek, Wimberley, TX |
Somebody told me they're not here every summer. So I did a little research. Disliking reading online though, I mostly just skimmed the Google results and then skimmed just one article out of those. From what I could see, apparently some cicadas are always here. But then there are the cicadas that only emerge every 13 or 17 years! And the noise can reach up to 85 decibels, which is not enough to damage people's hearing during just a short outbreak, but could be problematic if it were year round. Not sure if it gets that loud in Texas, but in some Southern states it's considered quite a nuisance.
As a visitor I love it though! I'll have to see what it's like back in Austin; I hadn't noticed the cicadas in the city. But here in Wimberley, outside of Austin, those cicadas create a super loud symphony, drowning out any mind chatter and instantly connecting me to nature.
And this is what I'm here for, to empty my mind and connect with nature, merge with the universe so to speak, at this Sheng Zhen Qigong Zhongtian Yiqi Meditation Retreat.
Retreat. It's not just a retreat; it is a training. Training the body. Training the mind. Each day relaxing more, opening more, going deeper and deeper, higher and higher, quieter and quieter.
And now I'm reminded of the little girl in Bolivia who had a pet cicada. Yes, a pet cicada! On a string. Oh, the things I've seen! Speaking of which, my next entry is probably going to be about something I saw down here that most people will think I should not have gone to see. But I just had to. And I'm glad I did.
© 2012 Rebecca Clio Gould. All rights reserved.
Cicadas are not found where the earth has been disturbed since there last appearance because when soil is moved they don't survive so new ares of cities won't have any old areas will have tons. When I was in my early 20s in Baltimore, a very old city, we had to where head scarves and glasses when we drove our only car, an MG Midget convertible, with the top down because we didn't all fit with the top up. It was very creepy. I do find nature noises very compatible to meditation, even the ones that are annoying to others.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Eli!
ReplyDeleteMy family always referred to them as locusts, and their empty shells attached to tree trunks or buildings look somehow prehistoric. Their noise is the sound of summer to me. I find it interesting that I always notice when they begin their summer symphony, but never acknowledge when their song ends.
ReplyDelete