On My Mind: A Summer Dream

If God made man in his own image, I figure God made woman in his own image, too, and lots of other things, too. I mean, God might not always care to look like a male primate. Sometimes She might look beautiful in other ways, and make other things in her own image. Jellyfish, for instance. What could be more beautiful—and fun to be, too? Jellyfish have nerve centers all around the circle, like lots of little brains that do things together.

“It’s cold down here, let’s go up to the surface.”

“Oh yes, let’s!”

Pulse. Pulse. Pulse. Into the sunshine.

The famous biologist Thomas Huxley famously said that God must especially love beetles, since he made so many of them. I think God especially loves making other Beings. When he made beetles, maybe he didn’t tell them “Go forth and multiply,” but instead told them, “Go forth and divide.” It seems beetles have chromosomes especially good at splitting beetles into new species. Put a species of beetle on an isolated island and in no time you have eighteen species of beetles, or eighty, big and small, round or long, black, spotted, metallic green, all with different lives.

I think God loves behavior. He made a lot of enjoyable behavior, some of it for beetles. Imagine. You’re trundling along the ground like a tank, and suddenly you split your upper armor in half, unfold the tissue-like wings you keep underneath, and fly away. How cool is that!

It’s morning outside. A beautiful summer day. Time to go out and watch the teenage squirrels, lately out from under mamma’s rules and regulations, chasing each other around in the maple trees. Sometimes they miss a jump and fall to a lower branch, but they’re good at catching themselves and I bet that’s fun; it certainly doesn’t slow them down any.

How are the summer bugs doing? A huge yellow-and-black tiger swallowtail butterfly, a childhood favorite of mine, flies by, high and fast, as always. A tiny, nearly invisible, thrip lands on my notebook. If I had a magnifying glass, I could show you that this insect is so small it can’t afford proper tissue-paper wings, and instead has little hairs along a central strut, which are all it needs to get airborne.

Good morning, very small Being. You are the image of your creation, as I am of mine. I can talk and write, but YOU can fly. That’s very beautiful, and I bet it’s fun, too. 

About the author

Karen Pryor is the founder and CEO of Karen Pryor Clicker Training and Karen Pryor Academy. She is the author of many books, including Don't Shoot the Dog and Reaching the Animal Mind. Learn more about Karen Pryor or read Karen's Letters online.