Many insects lead, if they only knew it, UNLIVEABLE LIVES. Lives so vulnerable, so beset with disaster and purposeless suffering that they would COMMIT SUICIDE if they only grasped this for a moment. Why is it only PEOPLE (and lemmings?) that see the horror of existence and do something about it? The microscopic red spider running along the edge of Dot’s plate, making for an exit it cannot find, knows nothing of the horror of existence. It’s hard to imagine a thing this small existing AT ALL. It is BARELY DETECTABLE. It doesn’t even know how SMALL it is. How does it ever manage to find its own kind and MATE and make MORE of these? How big are the babies? Is the female mean to the male? Can it spin a web and catch bugs? How big are the BUGS? It senses food, air, light, heat, movement, gravity, if can run or stay still, it has few enemies except ACCIDENT OF EVERY SORT. This is a life?
Lucy Ellmann’s “Dot in the Universe” Like this quote and want more? For more carefully curated quotes from books I actually read, please like, reblog, and follow The Humble Art.