Unity- the parable of ant community

          When does a family thrive and when does the world admire it? When its members are united and of the same mind. If one son becomes the enemy of another, if one brother harms another, is it possible for the prosperity of that family to last long? No. In vain the father of the family strives to work, to smooth down difficulties, to impose himself on the world. His efforts are not successful, because the wealth of the family falls to pieces, their difficulties increase, the world laughs at their perpetual quarrels by which hearts and possessions – which united were powerful against the world – are broken into a small knot of tiny opposite interests, and the enemies of the family take more and more advantage of them to hasten their ruin. We must never be like that. Let’s be united. Love one another. We must love one another to help one another.

     Look. Also what surrounds us teaches us this great strength. Look at this army of ants running all to the same place. Let us follow them. We will discover the reason for their sensible rushing to one spot… Here it is. This little sister of theirs, with her tiny organs which are invisible to us, has discovered a great treasure under this large wild chicory leaf. It is a bread crumb which perhaps was dropped from the hands of a peasant who had come here to attend to his olive trees, or from the hands of a wayfarer who rested here in the shade eating his food, or of a child who was playing happily on the grass full of flowers. How could she trail to the hole by herself this treasure which is a thousand times her size? So she called a sister and said to her: “Look. Go quickly and tell our sisters that there is food here for the whole tribe and for many days. Go before a bird discovers this treasure and calls his mates and they devour it”. And the little ant ran, panting because of the rough ground, up and down pebbles and stalks until she reached the anthill and she said: “Come. One of us is calling you. She found enough for us all. But she can’t bring it here by herself. Come”. And all the ants ran, also the ones who were already tired because of a hard day’s work, were resting along the tunnels of the nest; also the ones who were laying in stores in the store cells. One, ten, a hundred, a thousand… Look… They grasp it with their jaws, they lift it supporting it with their bodies and they trail it pushing their tiny feet on the ground. This one has fallen… that one there is almost crippled because the edge of the crumb, turning over, is squeezing her against a stone; and this one, so small, obviously one of the youngest in the tribe, is stopping exhausted… but having caught her breath, she is starting again. Oh! How united they are! Look: now the breadcrumb has been completely embraced by them and it is moving, very slowly, but it is moving. Let us follow it… A little more, little sisters, still a little more, and your efforts will be rewarded… They are exhausted. But they do not give up. They rest and start again… Now they are reaching the ant nest. And now? Now they work to break the big crumb into little bits. Look how they work! Some cut bits off, some carry them away… It’s all finished. Now it is all safely stored and they happily disappear into the crevices, down along the tunnels. They are ants. Nothing but ants. And yet they are strong because they are united. Let’s meditate on that.

– Adaptation of an excerpt from ‘The Poem of the Man God’ [MVV1C91P288]