Living.

Alright. I’m about to get all existentialist on you. And a bit philosophical. And Jesus. Heck, let’s add Buddha in there, too, while we’re at it. But only for about the next three mins, cause that’s my attention span limit.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I am sitting here at my desk. I look down and there it is … a little ant. Just a teensy tiny little thing.

What do I do?

Step on it. Yep, totally tried to kill the little guy … or gal. Probably a girl since I think females are usually the ones out on the prowl for food, while the males hole up, eat all the food and breed as much and as quickly as antly possible.

Hmmm … is it me, or are these male ants sounding familiar? Is it disturbing that I actually know these kind of insect factoids?

I’m glad I didn’t step on it with the middle of my shoe. You know, like, slamming down on the poor little thing. That surely would have been an insta kill. Instead I just seriously injured it.

Great.

Now I know ya’ll might be thinking:  but this is just an ant! An ant!

And I know, I feel you, because I was thinking the same exact thing – right up until my attempted homicide … when something happened …

I suddenly saw the ant for what it was … a living, breathtaking, being. Who was I to decide and judge its life ending?

Me?!

In control of another’s fate?!

I felt horrible … so horrible that I actually crumbled up some of my cereal and put it down on the floor, hoping it was something edible it could cart off. Little ant was totally disinterested, but I figured the thought at least counted for something and I had to offer some kind of penance for my actions.

It was like a WWJD moment.

I felt like I was straight out of The Book {bible}, maybe even like Jesus himself. Seeing things for what they were. Infringing on no other being’s free will. Which totally reminded me of Buddha, since the man couldn’t kill any little living thing and felt utterly pained when seeing such things occur.

Yep. That was me. About to lose it. From trying to kill an ant.

But really … where do we draw the line?

Why is it okay to kill ants but it is not okay to kill people?

I know and can already hear the arguments on this … that you can’t even remotely compare the two, such separate and different things … but is it?

If we’re all in this life thing together and if this thing is not random, which I truly believe … if we are all, every single thing and all of us connected … aren’t we still hurting ourselves by taking the life of even something infinitesimally small, such as an ant?

 

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