Ants marching
Under the Table and Dreaming
Maisa loved animals and nature. She loved birds, spiders, snakes and insects. She even loved animals from the Stuffie Kingdom. In our effort to emulate the collaborative spirit of ants, we've decided to create a shared post. It should be known that if the reader finds any of this post to be inspiring or beautiful, then that part of the post is Samia’s doing and any parts that makes little sense, are confusing and, of course, any typos are James’.
Hives that Don’t Itch
James heard somewhere that humans are 80% primate and 20% honey bee. Most of us exhibit a degree of self-sufficiency, self-preservation, and a degree of healthy narcissism. Our primate ego makes it where we think much of what happens around us is due largely to our own importance. We have a toddler that knows ALL things actually revolve around us. Copernicus be damned.
Our inner toddler also goes through natural developmental milestones, where we learn to look past our monkey brain, become less narcissistic, and start looking at how to help others. Rather than solely acting transactionally - we humans also often sacrifice, can be selfless and brave. We act outside our own self-interest for the colony. We try to make the ant hill a little better place. How can we reduce suffering and maximize goodwill to all? How can we help and participate in the “Greater Good”? In other words, we also naturally look at THE hive, how to sacrifice for THE hive, and contribute in a positive manner to society. This is where the ant part takes over, with its sworn duty to the colony. How and why we switch between support for the colony and at other times act in our self-interest is very much what makes us human.
Prairie Monkeys for Peace
Which is a better species: ants or Chimpanzees? Which species is specialer than the other? Is one more moral? Is one clearly a more ethical member of the Animal Kingdom? It is time for a modern day Scopes trial between ants and monkeys. Can a case be made for ant superiority? When is it best to reject the colony and colonialism and assert free will? These are all questions to be debated of course1.
Fun Fact: Bonobos are the only species of primate that is not known to murder its own species. Who is the most evolved species now?
King of the Hill
Maisa came home from school one day in 6th grade extremely distraught because her friends had been killing ants at recess for fun.
mentioned this in a previous post. Maisa could not understand why anyone would hurt another living creature for fun. She had asked her classmates to stop, but to no avail. The ant killing behavior continued. This pained her deeply. This was not a one or two night discussion that then left her mind for the next drama. We spent many nights talking about the ants, about her pain, about why kids might do this, about various ways she could handle the situation, and how she might educate and inspire others to better care for animals and all living things.As an empathetic soul, Maisa felt things deeply. It is clear that she carried this pain and a sense of justice when there was unnecessary suffering in the world. There seems to be so much unnecessary suffering right now. Her brother, who witnessed some of the playground behavior, still recalls the incident and describes how the ants were tortured. It pains him also. In addition to being deeply empathetic, many neurodivergent children feel a deep sense of justice as well as a strong connection with animals. Being empathetic comes at a cost. Currently we as a society appear to reward narcissism, nihilism and fatalism as the realpolitik to which we vote our dollars, and mind space. Somedays, Sawyer makes it up to ants, by leaving a couple crumbs of food on the ground when he eats. Basically ant Thanksgiving.
Isaac’s Ant Foundation
At Maisa Space, as a donor-advised fund, we will be supporting a wide range of projects, art, community and nature, in order to foster true connection to ourselves, nature, each other and a higher power and purpose. We will keep following our curiosity and our heart to make the world a little more colorful and fun. It is in this vein, that we would like to tell you about Isaac’s Ant Foundation.
Through an organization called Helping Parents Heal, Samia came across a story about a beautiful soul named Isaac who also loved ants. Like Maisa, Isaac felt strongly about making the world a better place. We think Maisa would be proud to know that some of her money went to adopt an ant Alate at Isaac’s Ant Foundation. Hopefully she now feels the 6th grade playground incident has been rectified. Actually, we are fairly certain she is the one who orchestrated all of this.
Honeypot ants at the American Museum of Natural History.
Maisa and Isaac would both love if we spent a few moments reading about ants and contemplating some of the reasons why they are remarkable creatures. They are not self-serving, but consider what is best for the group. They are truly team players. How often in our daily actions do we consider what is best for our societal unit, or humanity as a whole? What small thing can you do today in service of humanity?
Which kind of bear is best? Gummy bear.
I also want you to know that because of what I've learned from you, I was better able to support a mom helping to make our school better for her autistic daughter.
This is a beautiful story. My kids also see every bug as precious and worthy of protection. Once my son was stung by a bee. Its stinger was in the side of his foot and the bee was struggling to extract it. My son knew that bees often don't survive a sting as leaving the stinger behind causes them too much damage. Despite real pain, my son waited hoping the bee would free itself from his foot and live. We can all nurture this kindness in our children.