One spring morning, while on a run, I noticed a large caterpillar crossing the road. I was running on the left side of the street, and it was crossing from right to left. How brave of that caterpillar to have left the safety of his grass and leaves and flowers to trudge across the barren, hot wasteland of the black topped road. It didn't get run over, or stepped on, and knew where it was heading. (I'm sure his instinct told him exactly where to go...and why) I thought for a split second about picking him up and "helping' him finish this part of his journey. Then flashed through my mind the images of stories I've heard how it is actually detrimental to the strength and survival of the creature trying to get where it needs to be, to "help them." The simple act of me picking up the caterpillar and removing him from his course and then placing him on a new section of a path would have been disorienting to this creature, at best.
I thought for a second, as I was trudging along, how I would feel if someone came and plucked me up, in mid stride, and placed me on another part of the road further ahead. Would I feel helped? No! I would have felt gipped out of the effort that I was putting in. I would have felt a little put out that someone thought they knew better than I about what I could handle. Just because, to you, I may have looked like I was struggling to get my breath or fighting for every step, doesn't mean that I was not capable of getting myself down the road, thank-you very much!
Awhile later, nearing the end of my run, I saw a man mowing his lawn using a riding mower. "Wouldn't it be fun" I thought, "if I could jump on and ride a little ways with him on that mower?" Not because I couldn't finish my run, I just thought a ride on that tractor seemed like fun.
I instantly flashed back to that caterpillar. What was the difference between someone else picking me up and putting me on a different place on the road an me riding on the mower? Both would have relieved me of some effort. One was MY CHOICE. The other, was not.
How important are the choices that we make? Is my instinct telling me where to go...and why? Am I following that natural instinct or allowing others to direct my path and influence my choices? I will continue to ponder these questions for a long time.
I learned this on accident, because I thought about that caterpillar on purpose.
