5.17.2010

The Ant and the Grasshopper

In a field one summer’s day, a grasshopper was hopping about, chirping, singing to its hearts content and taking time to actually enjoy the beauty of the world about.

An ant passed by bearing along with great toil an ear of corn, a crushing hunk of imposed guilt, and a sack of feelings of inadequacy he was taking to his nest.

“Why not come and chat with me, and drink of the bounty of this life?” said the grasshopper, “instead of toiling and moiling for a future after death in that peculiar way of yours?”

“I am helping lay up the bounty needed to ensure my salvation and I recommend you do the same”

“Why bother about that?” said the grasshopper, “we have plenty of things to enjoy here and at present.”

But the any went on its way and continued its toil, unchanged except for the requisite shunning of the grasshopper.

When the winter of its life came the grasshopper looked back without regret on a joyous life well lived. Thinking this life was all he got, he tended to enjoy the here and now finding beauty in a lot of little moments that toiling after some future reward might have caused him to overlook. Life alone provided ample surprise, purpose and reward in unexpected places.

The ant had forgone much in order to prepare for what would come in time and hoped, at last for a reward for all that toil though never knowing in the end that his husk and that of the grasshopper made the same mindless dust in the earth.

The grasshopper looked on at all the preparations and effort put forth by the ant to the exclusion of much else. And before he passed on the grasshopper knew that the best days aren’t by necessity the ones prepared for... ;)

13 comments:

pboyfloyd said...

I guess the ant enjoyed thinking that the grasshopper was doomed.

Certainly a lot of religious folk seem to enjoy their 'trooth' that the irreligious will suffer for their enjoying of the now.

Their hypnotized state allows them to feel meek as opposed to just weak, like the housewives who know that they are 'really' in control by allowing the 'master' to control, through thought-control.

If the 'master' does your bidding, it's his fault if things go wrong and you can feel good if things go right! You HAVE both sides of the 'argument' in your pocket!

Pliny-the-in-Between said...

This little fable was the fault of days for sleep deprivation.

mac said...

he ant may have been doing what made him happy ?

It sure wouldn't make me, or the grasshopper, happy. But we're nt ants ;-)

Pliny-the-in-Between said...

he ant may have been doing what made him happy ?
------
true, or he may have been a victim of the queens tyranny and antellectual suppression

baboom!

mac said...

And, What's your excuse for that rant?

I believe anything else he can't,
this ant....

It's all due to pboy's "no free will" slant.

DM said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
pboyfloyd said...

LOL DM.

Gonna 'cost us our lives'.

Come on, define your terms here.

We ALL die, we're ALL going to DIE.

You just think that there's a 'spiritual' life, of which Jesus spoke, that can die if you don't 'believe in' Jesus.

Isn't THAT right?

pboyfloyd said...

LOL DM.

Gonna 'cost us our lives'.

Come on, define your terms here.

We ALL die, we're ALL going to DIE.

You just think that there's a 'spiritual' life, of which Jesus spoke, that can die if you don't 'believe in' Jesus.

Isn't THAT right?

GearHedEd said...

DM is a useless troll. He splatters that same post over several blogs.

Pliny-the-in-Between said...

Well, that was a very useful rant, heh? Well to be named in the same sentence with Shermer ain't the worst thing ;)

Pliny-the-in-Between said...

I think the asian porn spam actually makes more sense...

Jared said...

At least you understand the point of the asian porn...

Pliny-the-in-Between said...

That is true I suppose. Can't figure out why this little blog is being hit with it. I saw some spam on seeker's blog as well. Don't know why the little spambot signin thing isn't working unless they hired real people to spam - seems like a lot of trouble for something that will just get dumped anyway.