Should I or Should I not?

Should I or shouldn't I? Now, that's the question. Let me explain. As the warm weather is slowly creeping on us, I also notice few other things creeping around us, the ants, the bees and the such.

The immediate reaction on sighting one of these little critters is to smash them. It used to be never a problem for me doing that. But these days I am not able to get myself to harm them in any way, let alone kill them.

Taking a closer look at them, how actively they are running around for food and wondering about the family they will be leaving behind if I were to kill them and how it is the only life they have got and how sad if they were to die that very minute, what thoughts are going through their mind and all these "voices" come flooding through my mind stopping me on my tracks and I refrain from hurting them. The worst I might do is blow them away and that too only if I have to.

Instead I wish to help them if at all I can by leaving a puddle of water with my finger where I spot them in case they are thirsty searching for food. It is funny how when I saw a loner ant looking for something to eat on my clean kitchen table the other day, I felt so pity that I put a pinch of sugar next to it as a surprise treat! Didn't stick around longer to see what he thought of it though. Because if he didn't care for the heap of sugar on the table I will be so disappointed you see. So, I just walk away imagining he was delighted to find the treat and telling himself how come he missed it in the first place...

As a child I once helped some ants move a "big" load of food they were trying so hard to move, only to frighten them in all directions... so now I know better not to touch their load or interfere in their business other than providing them surprises here and there.

The other day as I was dropping off the kids there was this huge bear on the side of the road (trust me we live in bear country in this part of New Jersey) I wished I could go and give it a hug. What's wrong with me? Nothing! It is just that the bear looked kind of lost that I felt like finding out where he lived and if I could give him a ride or something in those lines...

It is not uncommon to hear me talk to the fish in our aquarium. I call one of them Methuselah - the tank cleaner. Methuselah doesn't move around much like the other kind. So everyday I want to see Methuselah moving at least once to make sure he is okay. I was getting late to work one day last week and I just couldn't step out without seeing Methuselah move. As the clock is sticking by I am standing next to the fish tank and calling out, "Methuselah, Methuselah, are you okay? Methuselah! say something..." As if he understood me, he sprinted so fast to the other side of the tank making my day!

Okay, my concern on Methuselah we can understand - right? After all he is a pet and so part of the family now! The bear? Hmmmm... if you think about it, it is not a very common sight even in this part of New Jersey and the only bears we are exposed to since child hood is teddy bear and I guess we can understand my momentary instinct to give him a hug.

But the ants? Now that bothers me! Initially I would spot one carpenter ant in some wall; but now it is like at least half a dozen on any given day. They are just thriving and happily living 'ever after'. I have started to reason that they could multiply so fast so soon that they will have to leave a pinch of sugar for me finishing up everything else.

But still I am unable to get myself to kill them. Israel is handy but he won't take my reasoning around smashing some ants. To him this will seem silly and may suggest I am complicating a simple problem. And that's why I thought of checking with you folks. Now tell me, Should I or Shouldn't I?