On a recent walk, I happened to focus on, and
instantly become mesmerized by, my big battleship feet – the Monitor and the
Merrimack as my Dad once christened them. Yep those tootsies have rolled off quite
a lot of miles over the years hauling my gristle and girth through both the thick,
thin & sin in-between. When it comes to your seemingly insignificant, yet admirable,
body parts, sometimes you have to just give thanks and stop to smell the roses.
Because at least those petals smell a bit better than my pedal-bound Buster
Browns and surprisingly you might just learn a valuable though TINY lesson.
Beyond the horizon here and near to my ‘Horton-sized’
hooves, I also looked lower still to a world down under my ‘skis’ to a far
tinier speck of an ant crawling toward me. Now I wonder what that pinhead-sized
flea brain was thinking as Mr. fancy antsy-pants piqued my curiosity. Was my Formicidae
friend jealous since I’m so tall? After all wouldn’t I be if I were so tiny yet
dare parade around beneath a pair of giant city-sized feet with a pointy head
akin to that of the ‘Burg Kalifa’s’ (except that I sway more in the wind)?
Well obviously my feet didn’t seem to render respect
from the ant since he refused to stop his advance or pay much mind to me at
all. Gee, I took the time to notice him, you would think that he could at least
return the favor if for no other reason than to be polite? I swayed my arms
violently overhead to interrupt the sun’s rays and bathe my aloof six-legged leaf-eater
in shadow, but he continued to turn a blind compound eye and ignore me.
Now this won’t do at all because I’m the important
one here – or at least to this insolent insect I SHOULD be. I’m really big, take up lots of space, and can
do magical feats like jump up and down spasmodically trying to render envy from
an adamant ant. My immense power can focus the sun’s energy with a tilt of my ‘cheaters’
to flush bugs with warmth, cover them in shadow, or simply ‘end’ life with a thoughtless tippity
tap dance between tarsus and toe.
So why then did such a meaningless and miniscule creature
catch my eye at all? Because this tiny ant was single-handedly dragging a handsome
bird feather, ten times his mass and a hundred fold his size presumably back to
his colony, for what purpose I’ll never know. He didn’t care who you were, what
‘might’ happen around every dark corner, or second guess his every move. He wasn’t
influenced by what the other ants were carrying or that their burden was
different, more, or less than his own, he simply stayed focused and kept moving
that downy quill up the hill. See I told you that you can learn a lot from life’s
LITTLEST lessons!
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