The Red Admiral's Message

Winter lingers on with temperatures barely above 8ͦ C (46ͦ F) by day, freezing - or close to it - at night. The body craves warmth, the central heating is turned on earlier each evening; the mind too, seems chilled, stuttering along, taking refuge in a diet of tv news and documentaries, plus – hooray - the new series of Madame Secretary.

Lent arrived suddenly this year. Yesterday was Ash Wednesday and we left Mass with large black crosses of ash traced on our foreheads. It’s always interesting to see if anyone remarks on the sight. Despite shopping in the local Sainsburys supermarket and popping into another store, no-one queried it; perhaps it was British reserve, perhaps I generally look unkept, perhaps all the customers and serving staff were Christians, perhaps no one really cares any more...who knows.    

Today was ‘get some exercise before you turn into a vegetable’ day so I walked three miles to the local W H Smith, stationers. Walking is a great opportunity to mull over things and there are strategic, tactical, and relationship issues that need addressing in some of the charities that I work with; indeed, as I walked, lost in thought, a fellow volunteer phoned and complained for 30 minutes about a particular issue he had.

Then it happened. From the corner of my eye I caught sight of a moth or butterfly flitting across my path. I followed it for a few yards until it settled on a wall. What a beautiful sight! This was a Red Admiral butterfly, mostly black but with orange-red stripes and white splotches.

 

I’m sure there are more colourful butterflies, larger ones, maybe more lively ones – but this fellow transformed my day. I did not realise that the Red Admiral is one of a very small number of butterflies that can be seen throughout the year - even in December, January and February when the temperature is in single digits.

I’m not sure why, but the sighting suddenly changed everything. Maybe it was a foretaste of summer; maybe it was a reminder of the beauty of nature; perhaps it was telling me that even butterflies can take winter and cold in their stride, a lesson in tenacity and optimism. Whatever the message, all my concerns vanished, I noticed the sun was shining, the sky was blue and it was suddenly warm. Thank you, Red Admiral.