A Sting

 
 Today while walking back from the apartment pool, I was stung by an insect.  I did not see it, I felt it and immediately swatted it from the back of my leg.  I did not react in my usual way of blaming the Universe for the sting, asking, "why, oh why would this happen to me?", I just noticed it.  I felt it.  I wondered what had stung me, and kind of felt sorry for what stung me, who knows, I might have just walked into its path and messed up its day.  I did make a plan of action for when I got back to the apartment; find my Thieves essential oil and take a Benedryl. I have had allergic reactions to bee stings before, so I take a Benedryl now just so I do not end up in the emergency room later.  After making my plan of actin, I continued to marvel at how calm I was.  I was thinking, "I am the only one experiencing this sting at this time.  It is just a sting.  No more, no less."  When I had been stung previously, there were tears, there were threats to the whole insect world and then a thinking of why did I get stung, was the Universe trying to converse with me through a sting?
    It was just a sting.  It happened.  But it is not happening now.  Yes, there is a welt and swelling of sorts, but the actual sting, it is over.  It got me to wondering where did I learn that a sting is bad?  Where did I pick up that getting stung should never happen to me?  I live in a world of constant danger, stings, bites, animals, people.  All seem out to get me.  Or so it would seem if listening to the banter on TV.  Nothing is out to get me.  Life just is.  My actions or reactions to Life is how I perceive it, either through a lens of something is out to get me, or what a beautiful world, where an insect sting can cause me to stop and think how wonderful this world is.  I can truly say I am not happy about being stung, I am not very tolerant of pain, it is something I try to avoid, but when it does happen I am grateful because it does bring me back to present moment and remind me of my humanness.  Maybe that is what is meant by living in this world but not of it the world.