The Small Stuff

Lesley' Post (a different way of thinking about a similar issue) 

Most of us are familiar with the phrase "Don't sweat the small stuff" and know that it is probably good advice to follow.

Well! - a couple of weeks ago "the small stuff" arrived in our house in the form of an invasion of ants and not sweating the small stuff took on a whole new meaning. It was all out war and I raged against them, killing them with fury, feeling at times completely helpless against those tiny creatures that seemed to have taken over my world.

The owner of our regular exterminator company service had broken his foot  several weeks ago and has not been able to do the usual preventative spraying. The ants certainly took advantage of this window of opportunity.

To calm and refocus myself I tried a variety of psychological and spiritual thoughts  such as "may all beings live in equanimity free from attachment and aversion", "just kill them one at a time and don't get overwhelmed", "they are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, don't mean any harm and will eventually go away", "the insect spray and ant houses will work" and "thou shalt not kill". But all to no avail. I was still completely unable to follow the Zen edict "make all mishaps into the path". My spiritual process was in shambles. I had been brought to my knees by ants. 

Finally I decided to take another direction and try to find some meaning in the symbolism of an ant invasion. Ants symbolize industriousness that is ordered and disciplined. They illustrate how persistence pays off and we can make our dreams into reality if we make a plan and stick with it.

So, how does this apply to our lives? Examining that question is where the study of symbolism becomes fascinating in its richness.

For some people who are struggling with motivation and getting their lives into gear, an invasion of ants might be inviting them to harness the disciplined, focused energy within themselves. They can see that just keep on keeping on one step at a time can really work. Every ant is a step and a whole community of ants can achieve amazing things. Invaded by "industriousness" can be a real wake-up call.

For a person like myself however, who tends to be overly busy, and not necessarily in a way that is for my highest good now, an invasion of ants takes on a whole different meaning. The ants are doing the right thing in the wrong place. There is nothing wrong with being industrious and bringing your dreams to fruition but at this time in my life I want to be much more discerning about how I spend my time and energy and that is a significant challenge currently. I want to make "soul choices" that will be different than the "soul choices" I made earlier in my life at another developmental phase. And I want those choices to be creative and joyful and not consumed by guilt ridden thoughts such as "I have not done enough of the necessary stuff".

And here is another twist for me. I want to attend to my "soul choices" with industry , persistence and discipline (bearing in mind that the word discipline is related to the word disciple and thus can encourage us to be followers of our own heart path). I can bring those aspects of myself that have served me well in the past to help me in my current phase as long as I am conscious in my choices each moment. It is so easy for me to get lost in the busyness of a strong work ethic and to internally tyrannize myself by the thought " you can play when the work in done" and for me play includes all those joyful creative processes.

But maybe there is another message to consider and that is the invitation to be still. Ants are constantly on the move and stillness is definitely not part of their life plan. Being invaded by the image of constant motion can remind me that I do not need to be constantly busy. Being still, to make space internally and externally, so that I can hear my inner voice and that of the Divine might be more of a heart choice.

The ant spray and the ant houses are working but I am still in process with the morning ritual of kill the ants and feed the dogs, followed by kill the ants and make the coffee, then kill the ants and have breakfast. Clearly this is a big message for me or the ants would be gone. I am paying attention.

At the same time I am grateful for the invasion with its message and am apologizing to the ants for the ongoing slaughter - sort of.

If I am really honest, I am very much looking forward to the arrival of the exterminator on Thursday.