Hoping and Hopping

The grasshoppers had mostly cycled through their phase of boom at the ChicFinn when I left on a transformational pilgrimage in late August. Cruising in my trusty steed I was not surprised to find the grasshoppers were thriving in more southern latitudes. In Northern New Mexico which was the first stay over for my travels, I noticed different types of grasshoppers flitting from one patch of dirt to another with each gentle step I took. Clicking and clacking when their wings rubbed, flashes of black and green hipping and hopping in the high alpine brush, I smiled at them because they sounded different than the ones I’m in relationship with back home. It made me wonder if grasshoppers speak different languages, or, if it’s more like dialects. Could these New Mexican grasshoppers communicate with their sounds to the Minnesotan ones if they wanted?

“Patience young grasshopper.” Do you remember that line? From the Karate Kid? Wise words from an elder turning to the grasshopper as a creature that jumps, but does not stop to think. Who launches itself into the air with such speed and determination, but only in response to the vibration or movement of some larger force compelling it into the air and away from what it senses nearby. “Patience young grasshopper” is about knowing when to hop, instead of just launching in what appears to the human eye as just a hop away from the melee.

Despite meeting these northern New Mexico grasshoppers I don’t really remember having a lot of interaction with grasshoppers in the numbers that I do now in Minnesota in my adult years. My main memory of grasshoppers was tied to the vividly written scene in one of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books. A collection of hardback books I prized, treasured, and still have in my library today. Gifts from Madrina, the books would arrive annually on my birthday and it was so fun to get to read the next part of the Ingalls family saga. Alfonzo’s tales not so much, but Laura, oh how I wanted to be a Laura but knew I was a Mary instead. For those who know, you know. Anyways, back to the grasshoppers, in On the Banks of Plum Creek the Ingalls lose their crops to this massive grasshopper plague, that apparently according to this super fan of the series was historically accurate in as much as locusts (a grasshopper cousin) took down wide swaths of crops in the US Midwest at the time. But you know how when you’re a kid sometimes things that are scary morph into even more scary things because you don’t really have the wherewithal to know this was a historical event but you also hear about locust plagues in the Bible at Catechism and soon grasshoppers are not just hipping and hopping around benignly but now occupy a place in your childish imagination of being more like that first bird that lands in Hitchcock’s The Birds but then you turn around and there are thousand more you didn’t even see coming? Well, that’s how I thought about grasshoppers for a much longer time than I care to admit.

At the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve I have attempted one particular trail five different times, and on the fourth attempt was able to complete it. Not because it’s a difficult terrain but rather because the Buffalo dictate whether or not they accept your passage. On my fifth attempt, a week ago today, I saw a Buffalo herd crossing the trail up where I was eventually hoping to also walk. I waited the requisite suggested distance away (100 yards or, a football field) and wondered as they kept going in a long line whether I was in fact a football field away from their line of hooves. After the herd crossed the path I began walking again, and then the herd decided they wanted to cross the path back from where they had come. Now I knew I was no longer a football field away, and I am smart enough to know that unlike grasshoppers, buffalo do not simply hop out of a human’s way at the sound of our footstep so I cut across the tall prairie grasses and prayed I would not startle a snake.

Have you ever felt the feet of a grasshopper when it accidentally hops onto you? More likely if you’ve spent time in the prairie you’ve felt their armored bodies ram into you as they ricochet off. What I can share is that their feet are less sticky than a dragonfly, but more so than a fly. Speaking of flies, during my week long meditation retreat one of our teachers suggested we engage in “fly practice.” Meaning if a fly landed on us, see if we might tune into the sensation and the desire for it to not be on us and learn about whether we might choose a different response to the creature crawling on us. It made me edgy to allow a fly to land and walk on my exposed skin. But these weren’t biting flies, they weren’t really landing to cause harm. In the few seconds I shared with flies on my meditation cushion I cycled through so many negative associations I have of the fly - the dirty creature whose feet have probably just flown from a decaying carcass or some defecation. The idea that if a fly is on you it’s because you smell bad, or are dirty. And then I felt this deep overwhelming compassion for the fly. The kind of thing that is life changing. Because I finally understood why Buddhists try to not to kill other beings. I had always assumed it was because they were acting holier than thou. That they refused to kill a fly because of the nobility of the fly. In those instants on my cushion I realized it had nothing to do with the fly at all, but rather the extreme suffering we cause ourselves when we are bothered by the fly. Shoo fly don’t bother me can still come to mind as the fly lands, but what we choose to do in that instant could be different than a grasshopper simply taking flight when a foot is near.

I am in this new period of integration and becoming. It feels weird to be announcing this in the part of the year where it’s time for those of us in the northern hemisphere to say goodbye to some plants and some animal friends. Where we find ourselves in Minnesota ushering in the changing of trees as they head toward their winter forms. I've been wondering about my seasons and why they are so often not matching up to nature's cycles; perhaps it’s all ok. I was born in the autumn after all, so maybe it's ok that I shed old selves when trees shed leaves. Perhaps it is a-ok that I will hit a boom of energy and creative blossoming. But whatever comes shall come. I’m learning to listen to all the ways my young grasshopper within is not patient and encouraging more grace for young and old grasshopper me. I’m realigning my spirit to turn toward the waning light of these near autumn days with less clinging and more gratitude. I’m hopping and hoping that the transformation grasshoppers endure every season they’re here with us can show me the way somehow. Hoping, hopping, and stopping at all the necessary junctures.

Creative Ritual

Y'all, I am struggling to get these missives out to you - as you can see no podcast version this time around because I just didn't have it in me. I am really minding my energy levels and I'm about to go on a five day sojourn which is a bit rough because I've only been home for five days and I am heading back out on the road for work obligations tomorrow. After this push I will be resetting my goals and expectations for the rest of the year. This week's focus was on a fellowship application that I got sent off yesterday, but that surprisingly took up way more time than I had allocated. I learned my Little Red Chair painting will be featured in an upcoming show in Illinois, so that's fun! More details on that to come. I've also been reviewing an academic manuscript as a scholarly reviewer and am vetting another invitation to serve on an editorial board. It feels good that my scholarly degree is still getting put to good use. Lastly I'll share that a recent insight I had while travels is that I cannot physically maintain the pace I've been operating at without consequences, so please, hold me accountable to not only my desire to, but my need to slow down. 

Upcoming Events and ways to connect with me!

• Saturday September 16 12:00-4:00pm Stop by the CLUES Latino Art Gallery for Artist Q&A during Fiesta Latina
• Monday October 16 5:30-8:00pm I'll be facilitating the Work of Art Series Workshop on Pricing in New London MN - if you're in southwest MN consider attending, it's free. Also check out the other Springboard zoom or in-person opportunities
• Ongoing - book a consultation with me! I've been having so much fun working with other artists to problem-solve, and more importantly dream big for their artist careers. Ask me how you can get on my books or another cool ACC's calendar. 
• Ongoing - become a supporting sustainer of the Art of KCF creative visioning, all monthly sustainers receive a delightful handmade print and special behind the scenes pics from my sketchbook that don't show up elsewhere in the internets! Join the other seven other super fans today! 

Questions to ponder

What are you saying goodbye to right now? 
What are you saying hello to right now? 
How is the season's change hitting you? 
What signs are you receiving that it's time to speed up or slow down? 

Thanks for journeying with me. I hope, as always, that you take what you need and leave the rest for someone else, or for another time. 

-KCF

The Art of KCF Newsletter is a fiscal year 2023 recipient of a Creative Support for Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.