The Heart of Ants
Recently, my Heart was wondering about ants. I live in nature in the Sacred Valley of Peru, and we have some ants as expected.
One day, I was cleaning ants out of something and wondered about their death.
Were they teaching me about impermanence? The fragility of life? Not being afraid of death?
Then, I read this quote on Midwives of the Soul on Facebook some days later, and it brought me to tears:
“I think it’s a deep consolation to know that spiders dream, that monkeys tease predators, that dolphins have accents, that lions can be scared silly by a lone mongoose, that otters hold hands, and ants bury their dead. That there isn’t their life and our life. Nor your life and my life. That it’s just one teetering and endless thread and all of us, all of us, are entangled with it as deep as entanglement goes.”
— Kate Forster
Wow! Here was the answer to my question about ants!
I wanted to know more. So, I did some research online. I discovered these tiny little ants take great care for those who have passed. I found this article:
“When an ant dies, her body is picked up by workers and carried away to the graveyard. The worker ants take the dead body and place it at the entrance of the nest. Later, they will bury it.
It’s very important for the colony that all members are working together and helping each other. If one ant doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do, then it will affect the whole colony.
They may attempt to revive the ant. This is more common in species of ants that are social and live in colonies. The ants may try to remove the ant from danger, feed it, or even groom it in an attempt to bring it back to life.
They may carry the dead ant away from the colony. This is more common in species of ants that are solitary or live in smaller groups. The ants may carry the dead ant to a place where it will not attract pests or disease.
In some cases, ants may even perform a funeral ritual for their dead. This may involve carrying the body to a special location, cleaning it, or even feeding it. The exact purpose of these rituals is not fully understood, but they may be a way for the ants to pay their respects to the dead or to help them transition to the next life.”
These ants have little Hearts in them! Just like us! How precious! ❤
It doesn’t matter how tiny you are, you are still part of Life, Love, God!
What a beautiful lesson I received. If an ant colony can show that much care, what can we do, I do, you do, to be that Holy?
