Ant Philosopher

The Weight of Thought

A large red ant looked over the colony. They had found refuge under a forest log.

He spoke to his second.

"We spend so much time wishing, wanting, complaining, regretting, worrying, that we forget to live, to enjoy life now.

"We're always looking back at ants and times past, or looking ahead.

"What is it like for you, for me, to be alive inside this moment?"

The second looked up, his back weighed down by a giant seed.

"Heavy," he exclaimed. "All that is easy for you to say. You don't have to carry these loads anymore. You just supervise and philosophize."

The red ant took in the scent of the forest pine.

"Carrying loads is difficult. I carried many in my youth.

"But carrying thoughts is the greatest burden of all.

"As much as you'd like to release that load from your back, it is the thoughts you release that will make you light."

A story by Pemba Umoja