Ants in the Mailbox

I’m not a Buddhist, but maybe there’s something in my DNA that is?

Much to my dismay, about a month ago, I got my mail out of the mailbox covered with ants. Underneath the mail they swarmed and underneath them there were a trillion white “eggs” or some form of developmental ant.

I figured that they’d birth their ant-lets and go off into the sunset. I checked and lo and behold, the mailbox was clear! (For one day.)

The hoard returned with another reproductive tsunami. I said to myself, “This must be reproductive season,” and again declared a truce.

This scenario repeated itself many times. I even returned the ants that clung to my mail to their brood each time.

Finally, after another ant-fest, when the mailbox was ant and egg free, I sprayed the mailbox with Thieves essential oil. It’s far from a poison, but rather has “anti-everything” properties. I encouraged the ants to find another breeding ground.

I share this because killing for convenience doesn’t ring true. Redirecting our Earthly cohabitants makes more sense. When astronomers explore the Universe for signs of life and celebrate bacteria appearing on some distant planet, it seems that we should at least tread lightly on our own precious ground.

We protest the inconvenience of caring, but on the world stage the magnitude of not caring is breathtaking. It’s only the exaggerated version of we each justify…for convenience.

With love, Rosanne Bostonian