Bug Off

So, I’m not exactly sure what this says about me but I thought I’d share my thoughts anyway. I was in the restroom at work doing general restroom type things when I noticed a rollie-pollie walking down the line of the adjacent wall. I didn’t think much of him at first, but my usual feeling toward insects. I don’t hold them in high regard. This I’m sure is do to the fact that I’m basically ignorant to their existence. Anyway, he moved smoothly almost glided down the base of the wall, following it closely as if he was a train on track. The distance was probably some five feet or so and he was moving at a pretty impressive speed. I assumed that once he reached the corner he would turn and follow the connecting wall in the same fashion. This is when the idea entered my mind about how simple his life must be. His life is full of extremely straightforward goals. All he has to do is walk down a path someone else designed, mindlessly moving in a straight line until he happens across a food source, a mate, or a predator. It seems like a life of no worries and once he reached the corner he paused for a moment and then like I expected he continued down the other wall.

The simplicity of it is what caught my attention. How do we seem to make life so complicated if really it is as easy as moving forward instinctively? I might have treaded further down that path of thought. Going on to say we humans live to over think situations and attempt to mold our words instead of simply living in them. However, my rollie-pollie friend derailed that train of reflection when he diverged from the second wall and started out across the tile. Why had he left behind the secure solid line of the wall to venture into the unsure world of the floor?

As he moved out father away from the wall, his path was nothing but defined. Sometimes he would transverse the tiles cutting them in half or traveled down the gout grooves. He tried to take a groove too fast once or twice and fell upside down, but quickly righted himself and soldiered on. With all this, he seemed to stop making much forward progress, but now seemed to move more in small circles. Going over areas he had already been and even taking the same exact path more than once.

I could not help but wonder if there were higher beings out there looking down on Earth watching us. They would probably have much the same interpretation as I had toward this “lower being”. It would seem that sometimes the human race ceases to make any progress forward. We move in circles bringing back up the same arguments and situations. Much to the credit of the old adage, that history is doomed to repeat itself. How humbling is life that it can be vividly reflected by the actions of a tiny unassuming bug?

I did a little research on rollie-pollies whose more proper name is isopod. Interestingly isopods aren’t even insects they are Crustaceans. I’m not saying they would taste good boiled and served with a side of melted butter, but it is an interesting clarification. On another interesting note, they actually breathe through gills. This usually means they are restricted to areas with high humidity, under rocks or logs or in crevices. This is sort of an odd statement considering I was in the restroom of a large office building. Most people don’t consider the humidly of such a place relatively high.

The time that elapsed between when I first noticed the isopod and when I decided I should get back to work was about ten minutes. The average lifespan of an isopod is 2 years and assuming I live to be around 80, he shared 0.001% of his life with me and I shared 0.00002% of my life with him. It is amazing how such a small amount of time can inspire so much thought.

So did I judge him too quickly as a painfully simple creature? Probably, I have a tendency to do that. However, I hope that I am intelligent enough to notice when I do and try to revisit the issue.