steps ahead
...in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths...
I stepped on a snail the other day. I despise stepping on things, especially living things. It calls to mind the time that I accidentally stepped on a large grasshopper. I remember praying that I had not actually stepped on a grasshopper, but instead a large leaf. Surely enough, as I turned around to look at the damage, it was a large grasshopper. He helplessly struggled to regain strength after having been sadly crushed by a girl thousands of times larger than he.
Stepping on bugs, accidentally or on purpose, is a mundane occurrence. However, I am very much aware that even something as insignificant as a bug is something living, breathing, existing. I might have made a very good buddhist. I will not go as far as to say that a bug's life or any creature or animal's life is equal to a human life, but I do know that a person's capacity for compassion is something God-given. So that when I see a bug suffering or dead, it stirs up a sense of sadness within me that can only be explained by something greater than myself.
I stepped on a snail. I normally look ahead before stepping to prevent such an incident. For whatever reason, I paid no attention to the ground that day and stepped directly on top of that snail. I again prayed that it was a leaf and not an innocent, living creature. But again I was disappointed to find the poor remains of what had been a snail on his way to a patch of grass. What intensified my sadness is that it happened right outside the front door. Everyday I walk past a small heap of broken shell and snail carcass, wondering how I could be so careless.
This made me think of God, as many things often lead me to think of Him. Was God warning me to watch my steps? This is a stretch, yes. In fact, a big stretch, but not an unwise one. I know that people can be led astray with ease; it is not difficult to be swept away by empty promise and ambition. This is what the world offers. On the contrary, what God offers is not fleeting and it is not left unfulfilled. If we look away from the path too soon, we will not see the glorious end that awaits us. If we look away from the path, we risk missing Everything. If we neglect to watch our steps in our misled attempts for what we deem is greater, we are in danger of dismissing the small things, even crushing them.
Dear snail, fear not, your death was not in vain.
I stepped on a snail the other day. I despise stepping on things, especially living things. It calls to mind the time that I accidentally stepped on a large grasshopper. I remember praying that I had not actually stepped on a grasshopper, but instead a large leaf. Surely enough, as I turned around to look at the damage, it was a large grasshopper. He helplessly struggled to regain strength after having been sadly crushed by a girl thousands of times larger than he.
Stepping on bugs, accidentally or on purpose, is a mundane occurrence. However, I am very much aware that even something as insignificant as a bug is something living, breathing, existing. I might have made a very good buddhist. I will not go as far as to say that a bug's life or any creature or animal's life is equal to a human life, but I do know that a person's capacity for compassion is something God-given. So that when I see a bug suffering or dead, it stirs up a sense of sadness within me that can only be explained by something greater than myself.
I stepped on a snail. I normally look ahead before stepping to prevent such an incident. For whatever reason, I paid no attention to the ground that day and stepped directly on top of that snail. I again prayed that it was a leaf and not an innocent, living creature. But again I was disappointed to find the poor remains of what had been a snail on his way to a patch of grass. What intensified my sadness is that it happened right outside the front door. Everyday I walk past a small heap of broken shell and snail carcass, wondering how I could be so careless.
This made me think of God, as many things often lead me to think of Him. Was God warning me to watch my steps? This is a stretch, yes. In fact, a big stretch, but not an unwise one. I know that people can be led astray with ease; it is not difficult to be swept away by empty promise and ambition. This is what the world offers. On the contrary, what God offers is not fleeting and it is not left unfulfilled. If we look away from the path too soon, we will not see the glorious end that awaits us. If we look away from the path, we risk missing Everything. If we neglect to watch our steps in our misled attempts for what we deem is greater, we are in danger of dismissing the small things, even crushing them.
Dear snail, fear not, your death was not in vain.
posted by jmf at
2:49 PM
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