Every time I come across the remains of a cicada I often think about how silent a forest would be without them. They are chatty beings whose sound patterns help us tell time on hot days. Have you ever heard a cicada sing? Have you ever seen one up close? Have you ever thought of eating one?

As a kid I remember one of my younger cousins would often sneak off on lone adventures to find cicada shells to eat. After some of our parents found out, they warned us that if we ate them we would become like them—chatty beings. As a quiet child I wondered, would that be so bad? In traditional kichwa thinking it’s very important to be cautious with what one eats because it’s believed that whatever one consumes becomes part of them…not just the nutrients one might gain but the actual characteristics and personality of the plant, animal, or insect consumed.

At first we found all of this kinda funny (as we were kids learning about life and building a relationship with the land) but then my cousin went from being extremely quiet to extremely chatty all of a sudden and we were convinced. I know some of you might not believe this at all, but isn’t it a beautiful way to see life? To be connected to land in such a way that it’s personalities and characteristics could possibly become a part of you? I think it’s a beautiful way to live.

Anyways, I wanted to share this memory and perspective on cicadas. I have always loved how chatty they are…the forest would be silent without them…just like our life would be silent without our chatty loved ones.