I once put salt on a slug and cried hard--I feel sick every time I squash a bug now...
A few minutes ago, I looked an ant in the eye. I've never done this before. I was sitting on my back steps, just sitting, and then I noticed a red-ish ant out of the corner of my eye...crawling on a leaf of a dying house plant that we threw outside. The ant had an interesting tail end, sort of grey-ish with a spiral-effect that reminded me of an "Acme" drill that you often see on Warner Bros. cartoons, or maybe its Looney Toons...either way. I've never seen an ant up close, and it made the whole world appear differently for just a second--or rather, a prolonged second. It felt like a Zen moment. I wasn't seperate from this ant--or the dirty steps I was sitting upon--or where the ground stopped and the sky began--or the slight humid breeze--or the people and commotion far away--or my mind even. It was all for a split second seen as a whole, without any forethought or effort...a beautiful glimpse of enlightenment. This experience has lightened my heart..........and at the same time, everything is exactly how it was before. Present perfect-ness. Beautiful.