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Monday, June 11, 2012

Fighting for our Spaces


Apart from the convenience of being totally understood, there are also a lot of household tips to gain from having a married woman as a friend in the neighbourhood. But since last four years I have not had such luck, (although I have had unmarried friends, which does not give the same benefits). It was frustrating until one day I decided; what the heck I will just ask my neighbor directly whatever I might need to know, and I asked -“Whats the best way to keep the house clear of coakroches.” And pleasantly without the process of intimate friendship and sharing I realized I could just get away with good solutions from pointed questions without much embarrassment!

I called up another friend and got the same suggestion and the whole procedure for the massacre as well. It must be good I decided. So I brought the powder and made the dough and stuck it wherever I felt the roaches would visit. The next morning as assured, I expected to see some dead roaches lying about. I was bitterly disappointed..Not even one! But then from the second day on I saw the dead roaches here and there. And I was so thrilled to see the dead ones! The writhing ones I smashed to the finish line.

It is a slow process to becoming a murderer. First time it is difficult and then it becomes easier and easier, until your senses are numbed to the misery of the coachroach. I, the tender heart, was so merciless with the roaches. “Be careful about what you condemn, for that you are in danger of becoming!” is what came to my mind as I boasted about the number of kills each day. But then Gandhiji's words came to my rescue or rather my modified version of what he said.

Well let me warn you first; what he said may not even remotely seem to be linked to my topic. So here's what he said “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed." But as a corollary doesn’t it mean “In whatever evil we do we have to check whether it is for a justifiable need or a reckless greed.”? Am I twisting it too much? Well I know Benjamin Franklin seems to have said, "Man is a very reasoning creature; he creates a reason for whatever he wants to do". Yeah sure I know that; but examples might help here to justify my reasoning. Killing a common fowl for food as opposed to killing for sport, is an example of it. If I had gone about hating and killing all the coakroaches in the world it would have been an evil, than killing some roaches that encroached into a space I mark as mine. That is a need. It should have respected my space and kept away or bear with the consequences, right?

“Every war is fought for peace” Once the threat to our space is removed, and the adversary learns to respect our space, the war should cease. "Life is too short to spend in quarrels", and yet life is lived by doing what needs to be done for peace, even when it is a quarrel, a battle, a war that is a requisite to attain it.. We often have to fight a few battles to avoid a destructive war

And now for some whisper of an advice; whatever we do, even if termed wrong, may be perfectly fine as long as it brings good in the long run, but there are dangers when conscience erodes or when we lose sight of the purpose. That is why even one offence is such a dangerous thing, which is also why some religions prefer to teach to refrain from even killing a fly; as one may slowly learn the pleasures of killing (or other evils similarly). We might chose a “wrong path” where the end justifies the means; but we must always check not to become what we once despised. Our war should easily cease when it is peace.

12 comments:

Martha Jane Orlando said...

Loved how you were able to tie such philosophical thoughts to the art of roach killing. Not too many people could make such a creative stretch!
Like you, I only kill the bugs that invade my space; even then, I don't enjoy doing it. If I'm outside on my deck and see a roach or spider, etc., I simply ignore them. All creatures have a right to live, but in their own space. :)
Blessings!

Farfalla Dreams ~ Lisa Marie Farfalla said...

I hate killing bugs but don't want them living in my space, either. I don't enjoy having to kill them... in fact most of them frighten me!!! haha

Jessica M said...

I usually capture and release..but it can be hard when it's more than a couple of something..especially when you have a large number..like ants.

ralph said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ralph said...

i usually get rid of pests, those who are destructive and harmful... but i don't mind those who does not, in your term, invade my
space or privacy or put my family in danger
. they are still part of our ecosystem, they just do what they do to survive. Yahweh bless.

The Poet said...

Dear Jerly,
Very deep and well written post. I have to admit that I don't like any bugs, etc. If they are in my house...they must die!! Its all about health my friend. Thanks for sharing.

Rahul Bhatia said...

Agree with your views entirely, Jerly:)

Huda said...

I loved reading this post! I agree entirely :)

Manisha Bhatia said...

You always have insightful way of looking even at the minute things in life. Brilliantly penned down jerly!

Keep it up.

PS- If u can add a few pics sometime it will make the write up more lively (just a suggestion :)

Jerly said...

Thanks dear friends for enjoying the insights. Yeah Mani, I am still learning the arts of picture selections and placing. Expect only slow improvements ;)

Jovy Thomas said...

Nice one dear.... Liked ur point view.....

Melissa Tandoc said...

I wouldn't know how I would react had there been roaches endangering my territory :P

There were several points to reflect on but perhaps for now, I'll be content in getting rid of the roaches in my room so I could sleep well.

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