The Universe in a Grain of Sand

I LOVE Cirque du Soleil!! Their touring production "Ovo!" has been here in Houston recently and, of course, I couldn't miss it. Ovo is Portuguese for "egg".  All the players are different kinds of insects: a fly, ladybug, grasshoppers, ant, spiders, beetles and so on. It's exuberant, colorful and completely fantastic! And a creative leadership lesson is contained within as well.

While watching the antics of these insects unfold in front of me I was reminded that sometimes we need to look at things with a completely new perspective. Like the insects in our natural world that we pay little attention to, unless they are someplace we don't want them to be, there are worlds out there that we have little or no awareness of. Why not be inspired by the grace and skill of a spider weaving its web or by the strength and beauty of a grasshopper?

I was reminded that we each have our place. We each have our work to do and our energy to contribute to the greater good. And we each have the opportunity to contribute with joy and enthusiasm and love. Some of us will do it in colorful and splashy ways (like a butterfly) and some of us will do so in a more subdued and subtle way (like a walking stick), but all our gifts are needed. A sense of wonder while watching ants brings some good perspective to our daily lives and work.

I was also reminded that there is so much out there that we don't even notice, let alone understand. Life is a grand, infinite mystery! I think the beginning of true wisdom is the awareness of how much we don't know and watching this beautiful, fantastical depiction of the creepy crawly life was a great reminder that there is always more to experience and play with.

So go get creative and lay an egg!