A Bug's Life

I've often wondered why some of the most beautiful creatures - like for instance butterflies or lady bugs ..have such short fleeting lives. Now I am a complete believer in Darwin's eloquence and might buy the food chain argument on most days.

Today ..as it happens .. is not most days.

Maybe ..just maybe ..its because these tiny creatures take only a fraction of the time that it takes for people like you and me to learn the most important lessons in life. They are born, they flutter, they give joy to those around them, they learn and albeit ..no learning is without growing ..and then once they have joyfully lapped up life's finest bits of wisdom ..they pass into the unknown void.

Happily. Peacefully. Okay ..wipers and newspaper rolls notwithstanding ...not always peacefully ..but I'd like to think so anyways.

And for the rest of us.. the years tick on.

Sometimes we play it so safe, that we settle for second grade experiences and relationships for fear of wanting something else and making a mistake. At other times - we make the same mistake twice. And if you are someone like me ..maybe thrice. The truth is that it hurts more than anything to have made a mistake. But its also true that not making one at all ..or not learning from one ..potentially hurts even more. And sometimes as the cruel hand thats dealt our way demands - we must do something terribly wrong to set something else right.

It hurts.

There is no question about it.

But things could be a lot worse.

Imagine being a sportsman. Waking up everyday and turning to the last but one page in take your pick of a newspaper and finding a laundry list of all the mistakes you've ever made. Not just in the last game ..or the one before ..but every single mistake ..in every single game. And then imagine being publicly compared to everybody else who did get it right.

Yeah. I thought as much.

I guess I've rambled on long enough and lost track of what I really wanted to say.

Other than the fact - that its a Bug's Life anyways ..and Butterflies need a lot more respect than they currently get.

From you. Me and Everbody.