One Apple A Day #577 - shed the old skin
The other day I was walking in a park surrounded by the sound of thousands of cicadas. A typical soundtrack in the Italian summer. But this time, a friend showed me all their abandoned skins on the side of the trees.
I'm fascinated by these transformation processes in nature, so I had to learn more.
Here's what I've learned.
The female cicada deposit her eggs within slits in the bark of a tree. When the eggs hatch, the newborn nymphs drop to the ground, dig and hide into the soil. The nymphs live underground for most of their lives. They have strong front legs for digging. They create their home close to roots, and they feed on their sap.
At some point, when they are ready to transform in their final nymphal state, they create an exit tunnel to the surface and emerge into the light. The find a tree and start climbing. During the climb, they shed their skin - a process called moult - for the last time. The new adult cicada emerges, the one we can hear in summer. The abandoned skins still clinging to the bark of the trees.
I find the whole process magical. When the cicada is ready to move into the adult life, it leaves behind the old skin so the new self can emerge to bring its magic to the world.
What do you have to shed and leave behind to bring your magic into the world?