Learning from Ant, The Discoverer

"Teacher of Achievement"


I bought a fried egg-coated milkfish and three slices of soybeans for dinner. But I couldn’t use them up at once. To prevent them of being spoiled, then I re-fried the rest and saved them in my locker for my breakfast for the next morning. I was sure they would not be stolen by cats or rats. So I did not worry about that side-dishes.

Breakfast time had come. Imagining the delicious milkfish, I opened the locker. How disappointed I was! No cats or rats had stolen my milkfish and soybeans, but ants! They swarmed over it! There was a line of troopers coming and going directly to and from my locker. I was so annoyed by them! They was out of my estimation that there might be a “spy” watching me putting them in my locker. Poor I was, luck for the colony…

It was an ordinary event actually. Nothing’s odd with it. But something occurs in my mind: So, the ants got the hiden milkfish! How could “the spy” find it and then told the others to “celebrate” the discovery?

Scientist has told us that ants have antennas as radars. That’s why they can detect objects to find. From this information I try to make a reconstruction: Smelling milkfish has been detected by a certain ant. It made an identification on the smell that led it to the source. The ant knew what it was looking for! Then it moved back and forth looking for the source of the smell ceaselessly. Footprints were made as a clue for the coming back to the colony. (Has an ant ever been lost? Hehehe…) After a long journey of tracking, and only led by the smell, finally the ant found the object, my delicious milkfish! “Hurrrraaay…!!!” it shouted cheerfully. It picked up a bite of sample and went back to the colony. It told everybody about the discovery by clinking their antennas ones to another. And they just followed the trace to the object. “It’s time to feast!” the shouted happily. And so the celebration began!

“Congratulations!” If I were one of them, surely I’d like to say that for the achievement. Why not? The discovery of the hiden milkfish was a kind of achievement, wasn’t it?

Insights:
Lessons I’ve got from the discoverer ant would be:
• Identify the real target to achieve!
• I should know what I’m looking for so that I could recognize when I find it.
• I should not give up for the achievement.
• Keep in mind the clues to prevent of repeating the same mistakes.
• I should share what I’ve got to others.
• Celebrate the achievement as a thanksgiving!

Thank you discoverer ant! You are a good teacher of achievement and sharing of life! ***


NB.: The picture above was uploaded by my friend s_bala, myLotter from India, with title "Ant, one of wise creatures". Thanks for it!

Have you ever felt accompanied, even when you're alone?

I had once in 2001 when I was lost in a jungle. While I was taking a rest from walking without any certain direction, I found a beautiful flower next to the place where I was sitting. It's blooming from the ground in the heap of dry leaves. I didn't know what flower it was. It was very impressive and looked like a subject which wanted to say something to me. As if the lonely flower said, "I am here with you!" I was entertained and felt accompanied by that flower.

What actually occured in my mind was I felt accompanied by someone in whom I believed. I did not worry about being lost lonely in the jungle then. Even a flower could be a partner of communication though it's just internally. I think, it was a process of internal communication in a sense of symbolism. The flower had became a symbol for the presence of God. It presented my memories of God with his words, the words of accompaniment.

"I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." - Matthew 28,20. ***

Living A Dream

What does motivate your life? It could be something that makes you happy. It is! How could we be motivated by a tragic thing without any virtue inside? A virtue or meaning gives us spirit to strive, to struggle and to fight against any threat. Life is not rolling smoothly. Sometimes the path is up, sometimes down. It could happen that we immerse in desolations as well as consolations. What does make us still holding on our life?

It should be our faith, our confidence, our hope, our dream of a certain happiness.

"Climb Every Mountain" - Richard Chamberlain in "The Sound of Music"

Climb every mountain,
search high and low...
Follow every byway,
every patch you know...

Climb every mountain,
ford every stream...
Follow every rainbow,
till you find your dream...

A dream that will need all the love you can give...
Every day of your life for as long as you live...

Climb every mountain,
ford every stream...
Follow every rainbow,
till you find your dream...

So, be not afraid of dreaming, it just keeps us awake! It prepares us to climb every mountain! ***