Learning from a worm
honoring the work that's hidden
There are piles of dense and murky compost all around us.
It’s important to see and feel the fullness of this. It’s also important to remember that what we see is a tiny piece of the bigger picture. There’s a lot that’s happening below the surface.
May we listen to, and learn from, the worm.
Beautiful work happens below the surface.
Worms work unseen, unheard, and mostly ignored. Deep inside the darkness and the heat, they eat through what’s old and broken. They tunnel, churn, and turn what’s dissolving into what soon will grow.
Creating what’s new takes time.
The worm works without urgency. Stretching long, then short as it moves along. Seeping breath slow through skin. Time is season and spiral, darkness and light. Over and over again, the worm casts old into new.
The matter in the pile matters.
Richness of soil comes from robust and varied scraps. Add another layer to the festering heap, let it build up and topple over. The breaking isn’t a problem for the worm. The breaking brings new life.
The worm’s work is small, consistent, and true.
Thank you, worm.
And thank YOU for your beautiful, often hidden, work in our world.
Love, Melissa
Related posts: Learning from an octopus; Learning from a cat
Additional Resources:
Darwin’s Worms: On Life Stories and Death Stories by Adam Phillips
Carl and the Meaning of Life by Deborah Freedman (picture book)
Button Snail Hum is a pollination project of Noticing Matters.
Learn more and connect with me: melissaabutler.com | melissa@melissaabutler.com
If you’d like to deepen the attention and care you bring to your listening, especially listening to children (in your care, in your memory, or within yourself), I invite you to join an online community of practice where we’ll play, wonder, and explore together. We begin February 22. Learn more: Listening to Children
