Chasing Gavin
The plight of the ants
How I wish that humans were more like ants are. Some may consider my idea rather absurd, considering the fact that an ant lives a life that is the dullest, unexciting, and tedious among the whole of the animal kingdom, well probably it's next to the amoeba's lifestyle (in which, by the way, is garnering the topmost place ever since). Ants live through simple lives which are very easy to depict, really, because by merely watching the progress of the ants upon the floor and the walls, you can easily grasp the obvious reasons why-why ants go about in single lines, why ants carry these minute crumbs on their backs, why ants live in anthills-practically every element in an ant's average standard of living.
From the time of its birth until it reaches its death, every single ant is demanded to serve the colony-no buts and excuses are considered, lest you are the queen or a descendant of the royal family. In an ant's life, no education is required to carry crumbs on its back or keeping the line or even avoiding the water puddles, footfalls and walis tambos. All that an ant would need to exist is a strong back, stamina to carry on working non-stop, good navigation skills (for seeking the lines when you're lost) and most importantly, quick reflexes and a life insurance (you can never foretell your death). Gee, imagine life without Physics and Algebra to drive you nuts.
If one would be given a day to live the life of a worker ant, it would most probably begin with a simple breakfast (of crumbs), and then off it goes for another day's work. Once in a while it would be given a chance to rest by having a short conversation with its fellow worker ants-about how much time they have to meet the quota or about how many days are left before the first sign of the rainy season turns up. Nothing more than those simple subjects, actually. Humans are more likely to discuss politics, business, gossips or even trash talks. But the ants? No-those topics are way too complicated, and besides, who needs them anyway?
Along the way of an ant's journey, it encounters "traffic enforcers" and "street signs" alongside the tunnels. They're made to keep the discipline and regulation among the ants. Humans, on the other hand, also have traffic enforcers and street signs-the difference is that they usually cause fear and lack of discipline to spread among the citizens. Why? Motorists intend to fear the "blue buwitres" due to their occasional begging for "kotongs".
As I have already mentioned, an ant can never predict its death. By merely crossing the floorings and scampering over the walls, the ant is already risking its life. An ant must keep its constant vigilance to its environment, in case there would be a close encounter to water puddles, footfalls and walis tambos along the way. In other words, ants only fear the dangerous elements around them that can cause fatality, and nothing more. Humans fear practically everything around them, especially fellow humans. We fear speeding cars, brownouts, riots, sodium bicarbonate, hold uppers, traffic enforcers, gossips, cross fires, the constitution and ourselves. And the ants? No-I don't think they've even heard of these at all.
We humans care about the ants for the least. All we are aware about the ants' nature is that they annoy us through nibbling on our food. And the awful thing is that we find amusement from breaking the lines of the innocent ants, hoping to cause a panic among the small colonies.
How I wish that humans are more like ants are. Some may consider my idea rather absurd, considering the fact that an ant lives a life that is the dullest, unexciting, and tedious among the creatures of the animal kingdom. Ants live through simple lives which are very easy to depict, really, because by merely watching the progress of the ants upon the floor and the walls, you can easily grasp the obvious reasons why-why ants go about in single lines, why ants carry these minute crumbs on their backs, why ants live in anthills-and practically every element in an ant's average standard of living.
Every ant in a colony plays an essential role. One ant less in a whole colony would mean one less from the reservoir of crumbs, one less to complete the line, and one more of an ant's share to work for. A sole ant can break a line of a meter or so if it stops-see how much a single ant can make a difference.
There's more to see in an ant's life. If you try to look further, you would know what I mean.
