Lessons from an Ugly Bug
While watching a rerun, this afternoon, I spotted a bug on the wall behind the TV. It was one of those long, creepy things with lots of legs and big antennas on each end. A big, fuzzy, frankly intimidating BUG.
Now, I’m pretty sure these bugs won’t sting or bite, but I don’t like the looks of them, and I respect them enough to keep my distance, so I ran upstairs to get the fly swatter. I also didn’t want to leave bug guts on the white wall of our living room, so I scrape-knocked the bug into a bowl. Where it just sat.
That’s right – this little mass of evil lingered in the bottom of the bowl, seemingly pondering plans for its next attack. I waited for it to jump, or hiss, or scurry to escape, but it just sat there. Was it playing dead, hoping I would go away and leave it to spawn its evil? Was it secretly emitting a high-frequency signal to legions of its friends to come to its rescue? I would have been ready to shake it back into the bottom of the bowl had it made an offensive move, and I still held the fly swatter in my other hand for any other beasts that came my way.
My wife suggested I flush it down the toilet. Gently tipping the bowl over the toilet, I watched the bug fall gracefully into the water. Where it just sat once again. Doing the “dead man’s float”. Not swimming for the edge. Not fluttering its hundreds of legs, but just floating.
Flush.
This bug swirled into the abyss without a fight. A demonic being appearing to be set upon the destruction of our family (and possibly the free world), and yet it was gone without any effort to save itself. There had to be a message here.
First, I wonder how much we face new threats with the same laissez-faire, ho hum attitude – the attitude that says, I’ll just let the current push me where it wants, the attitude that demonstrates to others that my vote can be bought, that my friendship is easily obtained, that I can agree with whatever is said in the room. That I am a sycophant for hire! Nay! My attitude is one seeking the truth. I question. I investigate. I wonder. But I do not simply accept.
Second, regarding this bug, I wonder if we fail to face new challenges without a “fight”. I certainly hope not. We should not cower in the face of material that is hard to learn. We should work to escape the bonds of ignorance. We must fight to survive, but we must not simply give up at the first sign of threat.
It amazes me that so much could be learned from a two-minute encounter with a bug.
Now, I’m pretty sure these bugs won’t sting or bite, but I don’t like the looks of them, and I respect them enough to keep my distance, so I ran upstairs to get the fly swatter. I also didn’t want to leave bug guts on the white wall of our living room, so I scrape-knocked the bug into a bowl. Where it just sat.
That’s right – this little mass of evil lingered in the bottom of the bowl, seemingly pondering plans for its next attack. I waited for it to jump, or hiss, or scurry to escape, but it just sat there. Was it playing dead, hoping I would go away and leave it to spawn its evil? Was it secretly emitting a high-frequency signal to legions of its friends to come to its rescue? I would have been ready to shake it back into the bottom of the bowl had it made an offensive move, and I still held the fly swatter in my other hand for any other beasts that came my way.
My wife suggested I flush it down the toilet. Gently tipping the bowl over the toilet, I watched the bug fall gracefully into the water. Where it just sat once again. Doing the “dead man’s float”. Not swimming for the edge. Not fluttering its hundreds of legs, but just floating.
Flush.
This bug swirled into the abyss without a fight. A demonic being appearing to be set upon the destruction of our family (and possibly the free world), and yet it was gone without any effort to save itself. There had to be a message here.
First, I wonder how much we face new threats with the same laissez-faire, ho hum attitude – the attitude that says, I’ll just let the current push me where it wants, the attitude that demonstrates to others that my vote can be bought, that my friendship is easily obtained, that I can agree with whatever is said in the room. That I am a sycophant for hire! Nay! My attitude is one seeking the truth. I question. I investigate. I wonder. But I do not simply accept.
Second, regarding this bug, I wonder if we fail to face new challenges without a “fight”. I certainly hope not. We should not cower in the face of material that is hard to learn. We should work to escape the bonds of ignorance. We must fight to survive, but we must not simply give up at the first sign of threat.
It amazes me that so much could be learned from a two-minute encounter with a bug.