IN PRAISE OF ANTS (It Feels Great To Accept We Don´t Know!)

John and Mary woke up one day as human beings.

Previously they had been ants.

It felt normal -

natural, even.

They knew how their legs worked,

and not to eat metal or wood.

They knew not to defecate in communal spaces.

They knew how to count, and smile, and do sex,

and use the internet.

It felt astonshing!

Confusing -

but also wonderful.

II

Yes, John and May soon had identity issues.

But who doesn´t?!

No, they didn´t know how they got there.

But who does?!

Did they know the meaning of human life?

Did they know what they were supposed to do on Earth?

Of course not!

But they tried to fit in -

so as not to be exposed

as ex-ants.

When people said “I believe this” or “I believe that”

they would say “yes, we do too”.

But it wouldn´t go away -

the not knowing:

the not knowing how or why (or if there was a why)

they had entered the human world.

And the not knowing if others were ex-ants too -

but too afraid to admit it.

They would observe certain people with concentration, suspicion, and hope -

people who bumped into everyone they met,

prizewinning weightlifters,

people with no sense of individuality,

or people who inexplicably rubbed themselves against cows -

as they had once rubbed themselves against aphids.

But all to no avail!

The years passed

and John and Mary suffered

the oh-so-human need to be among one´s own -

the longing to belong.

And they understood

the hopelessness of their quest -

because (if they were honest) they knew

should anyone ask if they were ex-ants -

they would deny it too.

III

Until, that is, one day, when John and Mary said “fuck it!”

“Fuck the shadow of not-knowing that hangs over us!

Fuck this heaviness!

Fuck the need for meaning!

Fuck the need to belong!”

“Maybe we´ll never drink aphid honeydew again!” they shouted with bold resignation -

“but we have hamburgers, and chips, and curry, and noodles!

Maybe we´ll never again create underground cities with just our jaws -

but we have bulldozers and cement, and skyscrapers and motorways!”

“Maybe everyone´s an ex-ant, and everyone´s afraid to say so!” they laughed loudly,

“maybe some people are ex-spiders, and others ex-flies!” they laughed even louder.

And as they laughed

they felt themselves becoming lighter and lighter -

and smaller and smaller -

until they woke up

once again

in the ant hill

they called home.

“We couldn´t possibly have both had exactly the same dream – could we?”

John asked Mary, nervously.

“Absolutely not!” Mary replied with the pure certainty

that comes only from knowing absolutely nothing.

And the two little ants

laughed and laughed and laughed.

*

Mark Josephs,

"Mark the Mystic Activist",

Aragon, Spain,

Summer 2025

Mark initiated and now helps guide The Conscious Tribes Project.

His articles, stories and poems attempt to convey not only the concept of Conscious Tribes,

but the feeling behind them.

www.tribusconscientes.com

THE CONSCIOUS TRIBES PROJECT

Reinventing The Extended Family