The expectation and the ant
One of the most resounding and enduring features of life, is that it refuses to conform to our expectations.
We generate these feelings about how the world “should” be, and the world just looks at us and says, “that’s nice dear, but here’s how it actually is.”
The weird thing is, that we tend to look at this state of affairs and think there’s something wrong with the world. That we’re right to have the expectations and the world is wrong to conform.
But this thinking only survives on our scale, in our own head.
Imagine an ant which wants to get from A to B.
On its journey, it discovers that some pesky humans have built a house in the way, so the ant thinks “this house shouldn’t be here”.
Chances are, you’re thinking “deal with it ant, the house ain’t moving just because you don’t like it”.
The house wasn’t built as a personal affront to the ant.
It wasn’t built to block the ant’s way, or ruin the ant’s life — even if it’s done both. The house — and those who built it, are completely indifferent to the ant.
When we are upset that the world doesn’t conform to our expectations, we are ants complaining about houses.
This doesn’t mean we can’t change the world, just that there’s no value in fighting it with our expectations.
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This post originally appeared on kentvalentine.com
