Happy Wednesday to TSJ Peeps and beyond!
If you are reading this at the beach you are likely not even thinking about mosquitos so at the moment – for you – they happily do not exist. But my guess is your mind remembers and you cringe.
I also imagine you do not like them either! They are whining, nasty insects that suck the blood right out of you and rob you of a good time at the picnic or on a walk in the woods. Solomon interjects here,”Not unlike some of the thoughts we think.” Hmm.. .
Back to mosquitos.
Right now they seem to be a daily challenge where I live. They keep me from walking a path like the one in the picture (our TSJ blog photo). But not just any path. The path I want to share with friends and family leading to my future home.
And I keep wondering what could possibly be good about mosquitos.
I basically believe there is a purpose for everything here on Planet Earth even though it befuddles me and I might even argue that is a ridiculous position to take sometimes. But for me, a bigger picture can be found from a combination of science, primarily provable through sound research, and divine mystery.
Sometimes when I go for a walk or run (more walk than run these days!) I listen to Abba Gold and a phrase from one of the songs echoes is my memory. It goes something like this, “I believe in angels, something good in everything I see…”
I resonate with that. Until swarmed by mosquitos. Or watch the news. Then I wonder.
Enter Solomon.
Of course I turned to Solomon and asked, “What good are mosquitos?”
Solomon admitted this is out of his turf. He suggested that I seek a different source. That in itself was wise. It is always wise to recognize other sources of knowledge and wisdom who may know more than we do and/or at least offer us a different perspective on our beliefs and assumptions. And he wanted to learn more.
Enter technology.
How fortunate we are to live in this time in history when all we have to do is ask a search engine. So I googled that very question. If you have the same sort of question, feel free to google it. Many choices of articles pop up. Good luck staying with just one!
But if you are reading this quickly and likely do not care enough about this nasty topic to look it up, I will tell you that I learned mosquitos quite possibly do have a purpose in our elegantly designed ecosystem. How can one nasty little insect that causes millions of people to die each year from the disease it spreads possibly serve us in the big picture?
There is more, but I will list a few things I learned:
*They are indeed nasty. They whine in your ears, suck your blood and spread it to someone else. (ok, you know that)
*They are older than we are. By far. Apparently they go back around 200 million years. (So they are survivors!)
* They are an important source of nutrition for the lower rungs of the food chain (and like it or not we all depend on the lower rungs of any chain to reach a higher one) Honestly, they are a good afternoon snack for fish and other aquatic life as well as for birds, bats and spiders!
*Only the female mosquito bites and the reason is she needs protein to feed her 2000 babies (200 at a birthing or hatching or whatever mosquitos do.
*Male mosquitos only need female mosquitos Enough said.
*Finally, as with anything real important in life there is some disagreement about this, but a possible reason you don’t see a lot of homes being built and destroying the tropical rain forests is that the mosquitos stand guard to protect it! So butterflies, birds,and other life forces are protected from us.
Enter Margie and TSJ team
The importance of learning this may be to let mosquitos remind us how interconnected all of life is. We don’t like it at times but everything serves a purpose.
All living things fight for survival from the lowest end of the ecosystem to humankind which seeks more than mere survival but significance, love, and achievement.
This week while we have been fighting with mosquitos and watching the birds fight at the feeders, we have also been observing humans being defensive. Sometimes humans even “bite” one another (verbally) like mosquitos when their inner turf gets tested or threatened (mind sets, beliefs fears etc.). We feed our egos (protect our turf) by biting others. (That may be a good definition of gossip!)
Yes, we all protect our turfs (both perceived and real)!
Finally, I am learning that biting, stinging, itchy negative thoughts whether toward self or others, can bring as much dis-ease to the mind as a mosquito to the body. They suck the joy out of us and others on our shared journeys.
All of this from my annoyance with mosquitos!!
Hope you both smile and ponder the magnificence of lessons hidden in the bites of life.
So grab some repellant (Gratitude is a good brand) and play in the pastures (or like me, go mow the lawn) with joy.
Happy Shepherding!
PS…How do you protect your personal turf?
