Yesterday I saw a huge ant. It looked menacing and I didn’t know what to do. It was near my computer and I knew if I ignore it, it would bite me, my daughter or my wife one day.Or bring more of its companions. Which was even more dangerous. It was conveniently near a hammer.

I respect life. But “Something as menacing as this can’t be ignored,” was the logic that prevailed.

So I picked the hammer and killed it. And made me guilty, immediately.

Something was wrong and it forced me to introspect.

That ant was a complex life form. So complex that no human being could create it.

Then did I have a right to take away its life?

And then dawned an understanding of what was wrong.

I could have picked a paper, scooped it and left it outside, in the open in an environment that was friendlier to that ant.

I would have removed the passive threat from my home and let it live.

I resolved I will do this for all life forms in the future.

And the analogy extends to human beings too.

Some people trouble us and our first reaction is to hit them with a hammer (our retorts, anger etc.) But each individual is complex and varied, adding to the diversity of human beings that has helped us come this far. Each individual has exceptional qualities not found in any.

The ant is a scavenger and is among the many animals necessary for a human being’s survival. 

Similarly, irritants like the colleague or next door neighbor who trouble us are important in creation. 

Otherwise they wouldn’t have been here among us. They all have something to teach us. Lessons we have to learn and master.

If we are not aligned to the views of these irritants, it’s best we scoop them out of our lives, mentally. We can’t set them free, but we do, ourselves. We get liberated.

The life of that ant didn’t go waste. I will ensure it won’t.