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eSA (Extended Stay America) Room 210 (3)
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The Path Made by Ants
Several months ago I visited the Korean American Association presidential inauguration. The inaugurated person said, “If a person walks, he would leave a path behind for many others to follow and lead that path.” After hearing this interesting quote, I had agreed.
Having lived in a motel for the last 7 months, my wife and I take our morning walks on a distance that takes about 40minutes or more. After exiting the motel, we make a left turn and walk for about 10 minutes. There is a forest of 10 company buildings that looks like that were built in the 1970s that are there. Of the 10, 4 are still in operation while the others have shut down, but the area’s grass is well maintained and cleared of any fallen leafs. Most of the empty buildings have a yellow plastic chain to block the entrance so that no car or people can enter. But in the final large building the parking lot and the buildings in the direct right side is always open so that people can walk through.
Lately my wife and I leave around 7:20AM, which at this period of time there are lots of sunlight so there aren’t too many shadows. After walking about the parking lot in freedom, I noticed a strange black line. It looked like someone had drawn a line in several places. I thought it was peculiar and bent down and saw that it was actually a line of ants marching in a line!.
The stranger thing was that the ants had left their pheromone so that other ants could follow along and that had stained the road so much that the asphalt had turned darker. There were many criss-crossing paths and some were even as long as 20 meters. It had looked like the ants have found something to eat and were returning. Since they were so tiny, it was impossible to see what they were holding in their jaws. They could carry up to 30~40 times their weight and sometimes would climb walls as well. But seeing that the ants were as small as the dusts in the road, it was impossible to see what they were holding in their jaws.
While taking a walk on another parking lot, I found more ant tracks there as well.
Ants are rather noted positively among people. It is because of their faithfulness, collaboration and effort. In the Proverbs 6:6~11 it is noted, “go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!” and even in Proverbs 30:25, “Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;” and so on – so many positive things are written about ants.
There about 9,500 different varieties of ants living in the world while over 750,000 different species of insects living in this world. Ants only take about 2% of that diversity. One British entomologist had stated there are about sextillion (or 1021) of insects, about a quintillion (1018) of them are ants.
These ants live everywhere except for the Poles and the rivers / oceans. Deserts, cities, plains or even in mountains, in front of houses, in a pedestrian sidewalks of New York, does not matter where it is, they exist. One myrmecologist (someone who studies in ants) has said that they have found a particular species that would wait for an insect to fall into water in spout-shaped plants and live there as well. That is why they are called ant. (Short for anticipation perhaps?)
I was very curious how much these ants would weigh should they be all combined into one – each weigh up to 1~5 milligrams, multiply by quintillion and the number is astronomical! Several scholars have agreed that “the weight of the entire humanity is nowhere comparison to those of the ants.” Despite being so insignificant, they are the greatest of creations, even heavier that the humans that have made civilization to rule the world.
To think that the ants have made a civilization system that is similar to what we have is truly amazing to think about.
Every time now in the morning when I see the dark stained path of the ants, I could imagine their collaboration, community and etc, and leaving a path for others to follow along had taught me many things. Despite being so insignificant, they had collaborated in such a way that the parking lot is stained in the lines and is still amazed of their power of collaboration.
“If a person walks, he would leave a path behind for many others to follow and lead that path.”
July 21th, 2018 |
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Why? 
eSA (Extended Stay America) Room 210 (3)