The title for this inspiration may seem odd. And it may not sound spiritual or encouraging. Clearly, I have lifted some words out of context and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to have any clue the context if we simply see the phrase: appropriate amount of giving up. This phrase comes near the end of an article I just read. Sometimes I am not sure why I read these kinds of articles, but I jumped into it and was surprised where it took me. The title of the article was “Industrious ants’ surprise secret to success: selective laziness.” It originally appeared in the Washington Post and was authored by Joel Achenbach.
The article opens with a great line. “Ants don’t tend to get into traffic jams.” I am sure this opening line lured me to continue reading. And so continue I did. Achenbach follows the opening by says about ants, “They might butt heads (or antennae) momentarily as they go about their industrious business, but ants somehow have mastered the art of keeping things moving.” He finishes this thought by claiming, “They’re geniuses of flow.”
I couldn’t wait to read further. The author writes, “Another striking thing about ants is that some of them just sit around doing nothing.” Just like you must be thinking, this is interesting, but certainly not spiritual. At this point in my reading, I never even consider I would be writing about it in this context. But I was fascinated. Achenbach says that ants are not the only ones who have some of the colony just sitting around doing nothing. Apparently bees do the same thing. Just picture this. “When ants build a nest, some of them just sit around, inert, lazy, seemingly useless.”
I laugh because I certainly have been part of groups for which this would be characteristic. And some church groups have members who seem to be inert, lazy and seemingly useless! But that is not why I am writing about this. This study on ants comes from a study in the journal, Science. The gist of the article comes with this sentence. “The researchers found that ants are more successful when they are selectively industriousness.” They elaborate by noting, “The use their idleness to their advantage. Quitting has its virtues.”
That last sentence is a strange way to put it. In most cases, quitting is seen negatively. If you play sports, music, etc., quitting is typically bad. Those who don’t quit make snide remarks about “quitters.” Quitters are seen as those who can’t cut it---the ones who don’t really have “it.” Furthermore, laziness is not usually praised. Perhaps this popular view does not have it totally right. I needed to read further.
We are told these ant researchers studied groups of 30 ants digging tunnels. Amazingly, “About 30 percent of the ants did 70 percent of the work.” I laughed: “Some ants did very little or nothing. Then I was even more amazed to read that “When the researchers removed most hard-working ants, some of the previously less active ants stepped up their game and began to work harder.” The researchers’ conclusion is remarkable: “It appears that industriousness is not an individual attribute but a defined role. It’s like a job title: heavy lifter.”
Quickly we learned about the rationale of the ants. Digging the tunnel can get too crowded. So having fewer ants doing the work is actually more efficient. Some ants were not simply lazy; they were just not on the job yet.
The researchers offer this conclusion. They “found that this system of selective idleness enables the ants to dig deep faster…In effect, the ants have solved the eternal problem of too many cooks in the kitchen.” And then comes the zinger at the end. “What the ants have discovered is pretty close to the best way to do it. You need idleness distribution and the appropriate amount of giving up…”
That’s when I realized how spiritual this ants’ behavior really is. I apply it to two arenas. The first arena has to do with things like Sabbath, rest, days off, etc. We are at our spiritual best when we find a rhythm of work, play and rest. Many of us know this, but we are not very good at living it out. Some are workaholics; some truly are lazy (unlike the ants who were simply not on the job); some have forgotten how to play or won’t take time to play.
The other arena I would apply this ants’ teaching to is the spiritual groups and communities with which I have been associated. Groups often have the willing ones who do the work and others who somehow won’t jump in. Sometimes it is because the willing workers won’t quit. They may have a kind of martyr complex that often leads to work and then complaining! Healthy communities offer people a chance to work and then ask the workers to take a break---go on sabbatical for a little bit.
There are times to be digging the tunnel---whatever this is a metaphor describes. And then there are times for some of the workers to go to the sidelines and become like the ants who just sit around, inert, lazy, seemingly useless. This is the learning I personally need to hear and do.
There really are times for an appropriate amount of giving up. I am learning to trust this.
The article opens with a great line. “Ants don’t tend to get into traffic jams.” I am sure this opening line lured me to continue reading. And so continue I did. Achenbach follows the opening by says about ants, “They might butt heads (or antennae) momentarily as they go about their industrious business, but ants somehow have mastered the art of keeping things moving.” He finishes this thought by claiming, “They’re geniuses of flow.”
I couldn’t wait to read further. The author writes, “Another striking thing about ants is that some of them just sit around doing nothing.” Just like you must be thinking, this is interesting, but certainly not spiritual. At this point in my reading, I never even consider I would be writing about it in this context. But I was fascinated. Achenbach says that ants are not the only ones who have some of the colony just sitting around doing nothing. Apparently bees do the same thing. Just picture this. “When ants build a nest, some of them just sit around, inert, lazy, seemingly useless.”
I laugh because I certainly have been part of groups for which this would be characteristic. And some church groups have members who seem to be inert, lazy and seemingly useless! But that is not why I am writing about this. This study on ants comes from a study in the journal, Science. The gist of the article comes with this sentence. “The researchers found that ants are more successful when they are selectively industriousness.” They elaborate by noting, “The use their idleness to their advantage. Quitting has its virtues.”
That last sentence is a strange way to put it. In most cases, quitting is seen negatively. If you play sports, music, etc., quitting is typically bad. Those who don’t quit make snide remarks about “quitters.” Quitters are seen as those who can’t cut it---the ones who don’t really have “it.” Furthermore, laziness is not usually praised. Perhaps this popular view does not have it totally right. I needed to read further.
We are told these ant researchers studied groups of 30 ants digging tunnels. Amazingly, “About 30 percent of the ants did 70 percent of the work.” I laughed: “Some ants did very little or nothing. Then I was even more amazed to read that “When the researchers removed most hard-working ants, some of the previously less active ants stepped up their game and began to work harder.” The researchers’ conclusion is remarkable: “It appears that industriousness is not an individual attribute but a defined role. It’s like a job title: heavy lifter.”
Quickly we learned about the rationale of the ants. Digging the tunnel can get too crowded. So having fewer ants doing the work is actually more efficient. Some ants were not simply lazy; they were just not on the job yet.
The researchers offer this conclusion. They “found that this system of selective idleness enables the ants to dig deep faster…In effect, the ants have solved the eternal problem of too many cooks in the kitchen.” And then comes the zinger at the end. “What the ants have discovered is pretty close to the best way to do it. You need idleness distribution and the appropriate amount of giving up…”
That’s when I realized how spiritual this ants’ behavior really is. I apply it to two arenas. The first arena has to do with things like Sabbath, rest, days off, etc. We are at our spiritual best when we find a rhythm of work, play and rest. Many of us know this, but we are not very good at living it out. Some are workaholics; some truly are lazy (unlike the ants who were simply not on the job); some have forgotten how to play or won’t take time to play.
The other arena I would apply this ants’ teaching to is the spiritual groups and communities with which I have been associated. Groups often have the willing ones who do the work and others who somehow won’t jump in. Sometimes it is because the willing workers won’t quit. They may have a kind of martyr complex that often leads to work and then complaining! Healthy communities offer people a chance to work and then ask the workers to take a break---go on sabbatical for a little bit.
There are times to be digging the tunnel---whatever this is a metaphor describes. And then there are times for some of the workers to go to the sidelines and become like the ants who just sit around, inert, lazy, seemingly useless. This is the learning I personally need to hear and do.
There really are times for an appropriate amount of giving up. I am learning to trust this.
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