The Wasp and the Dove

While on a recent retreat, I was in a beautiful atrium, at night. I had spent the day mostly in silence. We were doing Tai Chi, as a group. It was the first time I had engaged in this practice, and I was feeling shy and very out of my comfort zone.

I had kicked off my shoes and was doing the practice barefoot, and feeling silly and self conscious so my eyes were everywhere, making sure nobody was watching me. We had nametags that we needed to wear for the entire weekend, as these identified us as residents of the temple. My nametag kept irritating me as I was stretching, and moving my body. I glanced down to check why it was so irritating, and I saw a wasp sitting on it.

I swiped it off immediately, as I am really nervous of being stung by a wasp: I believe it is very painful indeed! 

The wasp was unperturbed. I was convinced it would launch a counter attack and come back and sting me relentlessly. Instead it wafted slowly down to the tiles below, and had a sip of water that was leaking from a nearby tap. Presently, a dove flew down to drink water from the same pool. I watched, half in terror, half in fascination, convinced that the wasp was waiting to come for me, and then sting the poor dove to death.

He didn't. He hovered around the water, he walked on the tiles, and he and the dove seemed to have a moment where they were just watching us do our stretching and our breathing. It was a bizarre thing to witness.

I then started wondering, why does the wasp not sting the dove? And as I thought more and more about this question, I realised that just because something or somebody is in a position to do something spiteful, something nasty, or hurtful to us, doesn't always mean that they will. I learned that intrinsically, somewhere along the path, I have decided that if somebody can hurt you, they will. If they can sting you, if you are weaker, or vulnerable in any way, they will. Over and over until you succumb to your wounds.

How does life have a way of making us feel like this? How do we learn to become so jaded, and to expect the worst out of every situation? 

It is so difficult to be vulnerable, but this is what we sometimes need to be. To expect the very best of people, and to expect nothing short of this.

Be kind to one another.