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Listen to this post
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There is a fruit fly that stays with me when I’m writing.
Perching on the laptop, walking across the screen. Sometimes on the mouse, just where my thumb should be.
As I pull some oracle cards, it seems that wherever I am just about to put a card down, there is the fly; in peril of sudden demise during my morning reading.
“It’s just a fruit fly,” I’ve had friends say. “Those and spiders….they don’t count. Those get squished.”
Now I’ve long passed the period of judgment about the value of life. If you get too deep into it, the militant vegans and the well-meaning carnivores battle it out, and I no longer wish to participate in that sort of thing.
Your interpretation of the value of life is yours alone. And although I would never intentionally hurt a living being, there are times when it happens without my intention.
Like the time I stepped on a gecko on my porch, severing its tail. I watched it wriggle around in what I imagined was excruciating pain—caused by me!!!!—understandably, after the severance of a major portion of its body. I bawled my eyes out over my infliction of pain on a helpless animal. Like for hours. A bit of an overreaction, but that’s the sign that there’s more to the situation than at first glance.
Of course, tails can grow back on many species of reptiles. But no matter. I was in it for the lesson.
After days of contemplation, I adopted a missive whenever I contemplate the value of life:
Mean No Harm.
With these three words, one can view the cycle of life from a loving perspective. And yet the subtle interpretation of these words can take on different meanings for different people. And that’s a great way to live. To allow others to interpret things as they will, and to remember that your different interpretation is just as valid.
I welcome you to try it. Mean No Harm.
If you’re a spider squisher, pause for a minute before you pull the shoe out next time. Does your action correlate with your current interpretation of “Mean No Harm?”
And if you are one of those that will spend an hour struggling to rehome a bug outside, ask yourself the same question.
What do the words “Mean No Harm” represent for you at this moment? Has your definition of “Harm” changed?
There are no right or wrong answers. This is about you, evolving. Being a Darwin, I take the lead in adding an appropriate pun:
You’re regrowing your tail.
As our perspective broadens, we revaluate our definitions of things. So asking yourself this question may bring beliefs to the surface heretofore unseen. Any experiences since last contemplating this concept will enhance your opinion.
And as for the fruit fly, to me it’s a guide. They come in all shapes and sizes, quietly presenting me with an option to give it relevance. To me, it represents a tiny portion of the All, with just as much right to my environment as I have. I am, therefore, very careful where I place my cards.
Love to you.
author: Kimberly
