I have been
fascinated by ants since childhood. I don’t know if we had more
worthwhile things to do back in those days when we were a 3-4 yrs old,
but we spent quality time following the trail of ants in houses/ walls/
terraces, dint we?. How beautifully they kissed and greeted each other
while they moved in opposite directions along a line. Not an ant was
missed in this greeting process.
After many years of
ignoring these tiny living beings, yesterday to my surprise i saw a
black ant scurrying over my arms, as if in some major hurry to achieve
something!
Abruptly, my mind concocted a metaphor.
How
different are we humans from those tiny creatures? Their entire life is
about working, eating sleeping, reproducing. But that’s exactly what we
as humans do too. Isn’t it?! As for ‘Working’, of whatever I know, a
large part involves collection and storage of food. Here I am talking
about the ants, not some trip to the grocery store.
But
we, of course are smarter and ‘evolved’ as they say, aren’t we? We work
too, but for MONEY?!! We obviously fail to see that even this is to buy
food, clothing and a place to see- if we consider basic requirements. So
basically, we just take a longer route, while we slog at work, get paid
at the end of the month and then go buy food with it. The ants just go
out and get food directly (quite often from our kitchen compartments
too)!
What else can money buy?
Clothes? Ants don’t need them.
Travel? They don’t need tickets and passports.
Discotheques? They can dance whenever they want, they don’t need pretentious time and place for it.
Just list anything else that comes to your mind and see what the ants do instead
Just one innocent tiny God’s creature can so wondrously put the whole pride of being ‘more evolved’ as species to pretense.
I say, Wake Up!
See that just mere physical structure difference or money doesn’t set us apart!
We
still are a worker ant, slogging away to eternity. One needs to Excel
in life by growing as a person, by growing as a good human and not just
by mere promotions!
This ability to be able to meditate is
only given us, isn’t it! One wouldn’t see an ant sitting cross legged
with palms on thighs breathing deeply. The entire life of humans has
been about: waking up- go to school/college/ work- come back home- eat-
watch tv/talk/etc.- sleep. On weekends- go for movies/ hangout with
friends. And then of course, the occasional vacations. 25/30 years of
your life have passed by and it only feels like yesterday right? Well,
another 30 will pass in the same way. And all people will remember you
as some CEO of some company. If that’s just the case in reality, Sad it
is! Let’s hope that doesn't happen.
Let’s live, lets experience something that we have never ever before in life.
Let’s
get some exposure of the different flavors that life has to offer. I
can promise one thing with the experience that I have. The satisfaction
that one would get when one child hugs you will be unmatched to the
‘happiness’ you’ll get with your promotions. Go to an orphanage; adopt a
child’s education- for as long as one can. Go to an old age home, take
up some medical bills. Enroll for those teaching programs. OR SIMPLY
ANYTHING SIMPLE!
The time to explore these little things
is NOW. One will always have a choice. There is a choice to transcend
into infinity and evolve yourself beyond a state of being human or, just
scurry along crazily, for just tiny pieces of sugar!