Growing up in polar opposite environments has gifted me with the living experience of understanding different cultural practices – and somewhat broadening my life perspective. One thing that fascinates me the most is the different species that are on earth, and how people in different environments relate to the different species. While there are gazillions of species in the world, some of which I don’t even know about their existence – I find ants one of the most fascinating species.
It is not their resilience, teamwork or tenacity – but their incredible foresight, which is probably much greater than that of human beings. Humans seem to be losing their sensitivities – and that can also, sadly, be attributed to technological advancements.
Don’t get me wrong, technological advancements are a sign of humans using their intuitive powers to advance human life on earth and possibly other planets.
In a recent assessment of a newly painted building, I noted that along the wall, there was an army of ants stretching for about 30 meters getting into the building – it didn’t make sense to me as there was no sign of edibles. I was puzzled by this, as it was quite sunny and there was no need for them to embark on an exodus from the outside. Despite my observation of the foresight trait in ants, my knowledge about them is also quite basic – I know that if you spill any edible liquid or food, you are likely to soon see an army stringing to the spillage, and getting that food for later consumption.
Before enquiring about the ant problem – I recalled a lesson I was given, by one of my mentors, who resides in a rural village – “if you suddenly see a lot of ants when the weather is good and there is no apparent reason for them to be there, you must know that nature is soon not going to be friendly to you or the ants”. Meaning that there is likely to be heavy rains or extremely cold weather which requires some form of hibernation.
So, prior to concluding the assessment, we asked whether the building had been tested against different weather conditions. The developers told us that the building was built in such a way that it would handle different types of weather encounters, and the necessary approvals were in place.
We then said that we would come after a few weeks when the bad weather has passed – everyone seemed puzzled, but within two weeks after our visit – heavy rains began, and we revisited the building – only to find massive leaks from the roof which had also affected one of the important pillars.
Had it not been for the ants, we would have taken the opinion at face value, as it was coming from an authoritative figure. This is one of the challenges I find many business owners struggle with, to intuitively challenge evidence from authoritative figures and blindly make critical decisions which are often hard to recover from.
Where and when in your life, professional or personal did you ignore ants to your own peril?