On the Fly
I’m one of these people who buzzes all day. I always have half a dozen projects in my head at any given time and struggle to turn my brain off at night. Even when it’s late after a busy day, I find myself squirming all over the couch as I watch TV. Painting of course requires a lot of sitting, so I precede every painting session with a jog, fast walk and stretch in order not to go crazy.
There came a rare occasion recently where I actually decided to lie down for a ten minute rest. I had had a late night the previous night and a hefty gym session that morning so I was probably overdoing it. After an hour’s detailed painting I knew that I had to lie down. Just a ten minute kip was all I needed!
The moment I collapsed on the bed and shut my eyes however, a fly came in from somewhere and began cracking laps around the bedroom. I suppose I could have been irritated, but it struck me how much like a jet fighter it sounded as it zoomed at top speed over my head before circling again for another pass. How fast were those tiny wings moving? What on earth do flies eat to get that kind of relentless energy? The fly plunked hard into the mirror then resumed its laps as if nothing had happened. There were questions that needed to be answered!
Google was my friend. As we know, flies can fly upwards and backwards as well as forwards (no wonder they’re hard to swat.) Their wings can flap at 200 cycles per second and operate by…
Ok, so here’s where it gets complicated. I was originally intending to summarise the mechanics of fly wings for you, but let me assure you that after reading a few articles and watching a video I have decided that this is a subject too complex to summarise in a way that makes any sense. Let’s just say it makes your average fighter jet plane look like kindergarten science. I strongly recommend that you look it up ‘How do flies fly’ for yourself - and prepare to be astonished.
So what do I take from this? People have often described me as ‘creative or ‘artistic.’ Whilst that is very nice and perhaps true on a minute scale, I am humbled by the sheer complexity of what God has made – quite apart from the artistry on such a tiny scale! We don’t have anything to boast about, and I for one, will from this point hence, pause to consider these fantastic little machines... before I swat them!