See Russian translation

World Peace Begins With Ants

by Buryl Payne

People talk globally about world peace, but everyone, including my house mate, would methodically kill all the ants that were on the counters or table top while protesting she wanted world peace. I protested asking her to ask them to go away. She wouldn’t hear that; only spray them all the more.

Later, when I moved into an apartment alone, ants were everywhere. I’m not a clean-aholic. There was no sealed garbage can. A sack on the floor was for garbage. I told the ants to keep off the counter tops and out of the cupboards. They could have all the garbage they wanted under the sink, where I moved the open sack. It took a few days and now all the ants, except a few renegades now and then, line up to take food from the garbage sack. We all live happily. The more they take, the less I have to carry out. Sometimes I leave a sack outside before placing it in the curbside plastic can so the ants can leave. Ants are too small to have consciousness, I think, so maybe there is an ant master that directs the ants, analogous to our mind which directs the cells of the body. Sometimes I wonder if the Master Ant Brain is smarter than people. Fortunately, it doesn’t get mad at us violent peace loving humans!

I found I could shoo aphids away from the garden plants too. I haven’t been successful with flies, although I once met a man upon whom the flies never landed. (This was in Egypt, the land of rubble and flies). Mosquito’s don’t usually bother me, especially if there is someone else around who is juicer and plumper. An almost pet seagull came for a month and sat near me at the beach while I meditated. A whole flock came and sat down nearby while I did yoga one morning. They don’t usually sit; I invited them. Another month a sea lion invariably popped right up to say hello when I entered the water every morning.

Once, I swam out to swim with half a dozen dolphins which clearly interacted with me. Another time dolphins were swimming by, even farther out. I swam to catch them, but couldn’t and turned back when I got too cold. Meanwhile, I ducked under the surface and yelled to them to come by. When I climbed out of the water, a man came up to me excitedly and said: “Did you see that! A dolphin was swimming right behind you all the way to shore!” I hadn’t noticed.

Communicating with animals is fun. Try it. Anyone can probably do it. Have peaceful intentions. See what happens. Because world peace does begin at home, and why not with your ants?