The French naturalist, entomologist, and author, Jean-Henri Fabre (1823-1915) was renowned for the lively style of his popular books on the lives of insects. One of his most interesting and telling experiments he conducted was with processionary caterpillars, so-called because of their habit of following a lead caterpillar, each with its eyes half closed and head fitted snugly against the rear end of the preceding caterpillar.
Fabre was able to get a large group of them onto the rim of a large flowerpot with the lead caterpillar connected up to the last one, thus forming a complete caterpillar circle, which started moving around in a procession, with no beginning or end. In the middle of the caterpillar circle thus created, Fabre placed a bunch of pine needles which is their favorite food. Each caterpillar followed the one ahead thinking that it was heading for the food.
Fabre expected that after a while the caterpillars would discover their predicament or get tired of their useless procession and move off in some new direction. But that is not what happened. Through sheer force of habit, the creeping circle of caterpillars repeatedly kept moving around the rim of the pot, quite oblivious to the world around them. They were busy being busy, blindly following the caterpillar in front of each.
Round and round they went for seven days and seven nights! After a week of this mindless activity, the caterpillars started to drop dead either because of exhaustion or starvation. They died with the food they were searching for just inches away. Because of their nature and this circular arrangement, they all assume that the caterpillar in front of them was leading.
The processionary caterpillars were locked into a lifestyle of rigidly following their instincts, habits, past experience, tradition, custom and precedent–the same way they had always done things. In reality they got nowhere.
The caterpillars confused activity with achievement. They confused being busy with results. Many of us are guilty of the same mistake, but we have no excuse because we are blessed with intelligence and freewill, and therefore the ability to change our direction anytime we choose. However, we are creatures of habit and can all too readily get into repetitive ruts which can lead us to squander our time and energy moving in useless and vicious circles which move us nowhere except to a life of frustration and dysfunction, if not mediocrity.
“Staying locked into an image of how things are supposed to be can blind us to the grace of what is.” ? Elaine Orabona Foster
Have an AWE-full Weekend!
William J. “Bill” Bacqué