04-08-2011, 12:00 AM
The majority of them were walking towards the road. But a few of them had turned around.
"The sun was already low. My eyes were tired. I looked down at the ground and caught sight of a large black beetle. It came out from behind a small rock pushing a ball of dung twice its size. I followed its movements for a long time. The insect seemed unconcerned with my presence, and kept on pushing its load over rocks, roots, depressions, and protuberances on the ground. For all I knew, the beetle was not aware that I was there. The thought occurred to me that I could not possibly be sure that the insect was not aware of me. That thought triggered a series of rational evaluations about the nature of the insect's world as opposed to mine.
The beetle and I were in the same world, and obviously the world was not the same for both of us. I became immersed in watching it, and marvelled at the gigantic strength it needed to carry its load over rocks and down crevices.
I observed the insect for a long time, and then I became aware of the silence around me. Only the wind hissed between the branches and leaves of the chaparral. I looked up, turned to my left in a quick and involuntary fashion, and caught a glimpse of a faint shadow or a flicker on a rock a few feet away. At first I paid no attention to it, but then I realized that that flicker had been to my left. I turned again suddenly, and was able clearly to perceive a shadow on the rock. I had the weird sensation that the shadow instantly slid down to the ground, and the soil absorbed it as a blotter dries an ink blotch.
A chill ran down my back. The thought crossed my mind that death was watching me and the beetle.
I looked for the insect again, but I could not find it. I thought that it must have arrived at its destination, and then had dropped its load into a hole in the ground. I put my face against a smooth rock.
The beetle emerged from a deep hole, and stopped a few inches away from my face. It seemed to look at me, and for a moment I felt that it became aware of my presence; perhaps as I was aware of the presence of my death.
I experienced a shiver. The beetle and I were not that different after all. Death, like a shadow, was stalking both of us from behind the boulder. I had an extraordinary moment of elation. The beetle and I were on a par. Neither of us was better than the other. Our death made us equal.
My elation and joy were so overwhelming that I began to weep. Don Juan was right. He had always been right. I was living in a most mysterious world, and like everyone else, I was a most mysterious being; and yet I was no more important than a beetle."
J2Ixtlan
"The sun was already low. My eyes were tired. I looked down at the ground and caught sight of a large black beetle. It came out from behind a small rock pushing a ball of dung twice its size. I followed its movements for a long time. The insect seemed unconcerned with my presence, and kept on pushing its load over rocks, roots, depressions, and protuberances on the ground. For all I knew, the beetle was not aware that I was there. The thought occurred to me that I could not possibly be sure that the insect was not aware of me. That thought triggered a series of rational evaluations about the nature of the insect's world as opposed to mine.
The beetle and I were in the same world, and obviously the world was not the same for both of us. I became immersed in watching it, and marvelled at the gigantic strength it needed to carry its load over rocks and down crevices.
I observed the insect for a long time, and then I became aware of the silence around me. Only the wind hissed between the branches and leaves of the chaparral. I looked up, turned to my left in a quick and involuntary fashion, and caught a glimpse of a faint shadow or a flicker on a rock a few feet away. At first I paid no attention to it, but then I realized that that flicker had been to my left. I turned again suddenly, and was able clearly to perceive a shadow on the rock. I had the weird sensation that the shadow instantly slid down to the ground, and the soil absorbed it as a blotter dries an ink blotch.
A chill ran down my back. The thought crossed my mind that death was watching me and the beetle.
I looked for the insect again, but I could not find it. I thought that it must have arrived at its destination, and then had dropped its load into a hole in the ground. I put my face against a smooth rock.
The beetle emerged from a deep hole, and stopped a few inches away from my face. It seemed to look at me, and for a moment I felt that it became aware of my presence; perhaps as I was aware of the presence of my death.
I experienced a shiver. The beetle and I were not that different after all. Death, like a shadow, was stalking both of us from behind the boulder. I had an extraordinary moment of elation. The beetle and I were on a par. Neither of us was better than the other. Our death made us equal.
My elation and joy were so overwhelming that I began to weep. Don Juan was right. He had always been right. I was living in a most mysterious world, and like everyone else, I was a most mysterious being; and yet I was no more important than a beetle."
J2Ixtlan