Lesson from a Dying Fly
Almost two years ago, I saw a fly crawling about on the carpet of our office.
The fly was dying.
It seemed discontent with each spot on the carpet. It would stop for a few moments, then continued crawling for a new spot.
It was looking for its final resting place.
Eventually, the fly found what it was looking for. It wanted to die at the base of the floor lamp. The problem was that the base of the floor lamp was half an inch thick. This meant the base was half an inch off the ground, and higher than the fly itself.
The fly used what remained of its strength to lift itself onto the base of the floor lamp. I don’t know how the fly’s thin, hairy legs held onto the smooth, slippery, silvery base of the metal, but the thin hairy legs held on. The fly crawled a few more steps, then stopped.
The fly seemed to rest to catch its breath.
I left the office for a few moments to get a camera to capture the moment. When I returned, the fly was on its back.
The fly had died.
This invertebrate knew how it wanted to go, even when it meant the fly had to use the last traces of its life force to arrive at the exact spot where it wished to depart from the world.
I bet the fly lived exactly as it had died – uncompromising.
No. 1 — August 8th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Awesome story and wonderful picture as well! Uncompromising…great!!!
Thank you for this post, I love your style.
No. 2 — August 8th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
Thank you, Robert
I’m glad you stopped by and shared your blog link as well.
Jane
No. 3 — August 23rd, 2007 at 7:49 pm
Hi Jane..thanks so much for sharing. Bye.
No. 4 — September 28th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
Jane,
I like your interpretation of the meaning behind te fly’s death. It is one way of looking at it and not a bad one.I have frequently seen insects go towards sources of light just before they die.My interpretation of this is that they are looking for something to sustain them,something to cling onto so that they will not die. Insects after all thrive in hot climates,they cannot survive in cold ones. It is interesting that you look at this and see something positive and when I see it it makes me kind of sad and yet i can see how you come to see what you see in this .Was the fly glad he found a warm place to die or was he disapointed that the light could not allow him to continue on?
No. 5 — September 29th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
Soulsearcher,
I will never know whether the fly felt glad to disappointed, yet both of our interpretation may be right, because meaning of anything is what we individual give.
This particular fly lives on because it had touched me and therefore impressed upon my memory… Just as I know I can live on when I touch another person and therefore impress upon that person’s memory even after my spirit has outgrown my physical body.
Jane