Unconditional Love

They take no prisoners! They go for broke. Nothing is sacred. Realistically, I’m in their home: the jungle. Despite having running water and electricity, they were here first, and I’m sure they’ll be here after we’re all gone. They always find a way in. Trying to keep them out without excessive amounts of poison, is an exercise in futility. Since we killed and drove away most other mammals, we limited their food supply and became a primary target. Insects in the tropics are abundant, varied and vicious. Even benign ones, like ants and flies, have acquired an aggressive edge in the jungle. You can’t simply shoo a fly here, you have to touch it and literally push it off. Often we can’t even see the bugs, they’re too tiny, but we sure as hell feel their stings. Gringos call those “Noseeums” (no see them s). Not sure if the locals even feel them. Some people are immune to their bites. Sadly, not me. No space on my body was spared: I have welts on the bottom of my feet, crotch, between the toes, inside the hairline, belly, fingers… nothing is off limits. Every day, I pay the price of being in the jungle: in blood! Bug sprays, besides being toxic, are impractical. Short of bathing in them multiple times daily (not an option for me), they’re useless. Multiple times because I’m wet most of the time: sweat, rain, ocean, waterfall, pool… anything to stay cool. So: I made peace with bugs. I accepted my defeat and worked with what is. It’s an exercise in self control of the highest caliber. First step: resist and reprogram my impulsive fear and disgust response (I lived in cities all my life). Second: accept that bugs have as much right to exist as I do, including their right to feed on my blood. I pay taxes to the big capitalist machine, why not to the insects? They’re actually more deserving and healthier to the planet than the war and destruction machine fueled by my tax money. One is a blood sucking parasite, and the other is just an insect 😜. What’s a small amount of blood as a donation to enjoy the wonders of the tropics? Also, I get that euphoric orgasmic sensations when I scratch my itches. It hurts so good! I can easily get off on it… for a while. Here comes the hardest challenge: knowing when to stop! Every day I pick a few spots to scratch and let others heal. Fortunately, or unfortunately, there’s always a new supply of fresh welts to scratch. New intoxicating high sensations until I break skin and it becomes painful. Move to a new spot. Rinse and repeat. “If you can’t beat them, join them”!

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