If Ants Can Do It, So Can We

28th March, 2020

If Ants Can Do It, So Can We

I have a compost pit at the back of my house. I throw dried leaves and cut branches into it and let it decompose. I dug the pit two years ago and have kept heaping cut vegetation in it from time to time.

Now that I have ample time and in dire need of exercise, I decided to dig up  the pit and collect the compost. I saw nice black soil as I cleared the top layer. 

There was an ant nest partially built in the black soil and partially in the yellow soil that formed the wall of the pit. I must have disturbed the nest as little black ants were scrambling all over as I was digging. 

Being the brave warrior that I am, undeterred by the vicious ant attacks, I collected the rich black earth into three large plastic basins. 

I moved the basins to another place and started removing dried twigs from the heap. Ants were still scrambling in the basins as I combed the soil with my garden fork.

As I progressed to the third basin, I noticed something strange happening in the first basin. Tiny white dots, barely noticeable, as if by magic, started appearing on top of the black soil in the first basin. The same thing was happening on the second basin, only this had less white dots but steadily increasing as time went by. Tiny little dots started appearing on the third basin as well as I left it alone.

What unfolded was fascinating. Little worker ants were bringing the white   little ‘dots' to the surface and go back into the soil, probably to bring up more. In about ten minutes, all the three basins were sprinkled with tiny little white dots.

I decided to leave the basins in the garden and call it a day. It was getting dark.

I went back to my garden two days later to check on the basins. All the white dots were gone. So had the black ants from the basins. I looked around and noticed a new ant nest at the other end of the pit. The ants have moved and  were building a new nest. I just destroyed their nest two days ago and they had a new colony up and going in no time.

I googled about the tiny little white ‘dots’. They were eggs. Ant eggs. The little black worker ants had instinctively rescued their unborn young. That’s the first thing they did, besides attacking me. I don’t think the Queen Ant or anyone else in charge gave out the orders. The worker ants just did what had to be done. They saved their eggs or the next generation so to speak.

They must have regrouped over the night or the next day. They are rebuilding now. No complaining. The ants just did what needs to be done. First, salvage. Second, regroup. Third, rebuild.

Those tiny little black ants in my garden, with tiny little brains had survived their equivalent of a Singapore sized asteroid strike.

If ants can do it, so can we. 

Yes, we too will survive this Covid-19 Pandemic and come out of it better. In the long term. Immediate hardship is inevitable. Whatever said about humankind’s stupidity and greed, I believe we have an in-built self correcting system in us, as species. 

At the moment our front-line workers are fighting tirelessly to contain the virus and heal those infected. They are salvaging the situation and securing our future.

We are regrouping was we speak and are pushing back hard. Countries are reaching across borders to help one another. Neighbours are looking out for each other. I see young volunteers stepping forward to feed the helpless. Opportunists are being frowned upon and bigots are told to shut up. Everyone is standing up to be counted and that is by staying at home.

I see light. And rebuild we shall. Lessons need to be learnt. Our arrogance as a species must surely be tempered with humility. 

Mother Nature is holding us accountable. She always does; only we keep forgetting. Today it is this virus, tomorrow it can be another virus, or climate change or something else. Different time, different drama but same lesson - respect and love one another and all of God’s creation. 

Time and love will heal everything, even this. Let time take care of itself. Let love heal mother nature, heal relationships and most importantly heal oneself.

I leave you with the wise words of the Great Master Yoda “Do this, we must, eermmh.”

Muru

P.S. I came across an interesting article whilst googling about ants. A research was done by University of Lausanne, Switzerland on colonies of ‘Lasius niger’ ants. The study showed that when foraging ants were exposed to a fungal pathogen, they reduce their contact with workers inside the nest and thus reduce the spread of infections and protect healthy workers and the queen from disease. 

We are in this together

22nd March 2020

We are in this together.

We didn’t ask for it but here it is and we have to deal with it.

I see nurses falling from exhaustion and doctors crying in frustration.

I see calls by constables and my King falling on deaf ears.

I see small traders close shop and worry about the next month’s bill.

I see shows cancelled and artists suffer in silence.

I see bigots attempting to interpret the situation to suit their dogma.

But I also see a silver lining.

I see workers sweep the road and bikers deliver food, not just to make a living but to keep the system going.

I see security forces keeping calm and keeping peace.

I see families having meals together.

I see fathers playing with their kids and mothers cooking lunch. 

This too shall pass one day. 

And we will be left with only memories. Some won’t be so lucky, through no fault of their own. 

How we deal with this today will be recorded in our memories and in history. Let’s do this right and do our part.

We are in this together. We can only win this together.

#stayhome #staysafe #staypositive #wecandothismalaysia

Silver Lining - Movement Control Order

Silver Lining

Its the third day of Movement Control Order

This is what I noticed so far:

1. Listening from my room, the noise of morning traffic is reduced.

2. I can hear more of the birds chirping. But that could just be me, not hurrying to work every morning. I wake up as I wish and go to bed when I wish.

3. We have lunch and dinner together as a family, now that no one is out for one reason or another. 

4. This is the best ‘holiday’ I can ask for. I don’t have to rush from one tourist spot to another to cover everything. I don’t  have to worry about the price of meals at tourist eateries  and I don’t have to worry about the odd client calling on some outstanding matter.

5. I get to watch all the television I can take, practise my sitar and read till I doze off, all without a tinge of guilt.

6. The supermarkets and grocers are open. I can buy almost any food that I want. Bought milk, ice-cream and chips for my kids. They ran out of kuaci. That’s the main reason I walked up to the grocer in the first place. That’s OK, I can’t have it all, all the ti

7. Like the waters in the canals of Venice that are clearing up as the sediment settle, so is my mind. Things look clearer. Priorities are sorting themselves out and are settling into their rightful order.

8. I feel for my sister. Her daughter, my niece is working around the clock at the Segamat Hospital. She is worried sick about her daughter’s well being. Her son who just graduated from Medical school might also be called up anytime soon due to shortage of doctors. The previous generation sent their sons to battle-front and waited anxiously at home to keep everyone safe. This generation is sending out their sons and daughters to  the battle-front in the form of doctors, nurses, policemen, lorry drivers, cleaners, supermarket cashiers and all the other essential service workers to keep us safe. The least we can do is not to put them at risk by our own sense of self-entitlement and foolishness. We owe it to them to bring them home safe. We are in this together.