A few years ago, I became enamored with my colleague’s saltwater fish tank. For those who don’t know, it is just a fish tank with salt water and sea organisms. This fish tank had everything that made the environment survive. It had UV lights for coral growth, special filtration equipment and regular water treatment for pH levels. The water in the tank had to be a particular type of sea water. I distinctly remember watching my colleague carry massive 20L bottles of water to replace the tank water.
The inside of the fish tank was mesmerizing. It had bright coral, the same color as highlighters all around the rocks. There were prawns and small fish and other reef species which grew. I remember thinking to myself I could just watch the tank with the UV lights on in the dark all day.
What struck me after a while was that the fish tank contains wisdom and is a perfect metaphor for life and nature. What do I mean when I say this?
- Although it was beautiful to watch, it was a cycle of death and birth. Fish and coral either died naturally or got eaten all the time. Violence and predatory behavior occur daily. It would be calm. Suddenly, a furry of movement and a small fish was just torn apart and eaten by a crab. Or the coral species would retreat into itself when it sensed any danger lurking around. It was clockwork that my colleague had to buy new fish/coral to replace the dead. What was even more shocking was that amid daily tank violence, there were new coral blooms and new fish which were born constantly. Like the circle of life from Lion King. Everything in that tank happened according to its own natural rhythm. Its own reoccurring cycle.
- Although violence occurred every day, the organisms inside the tank seemed unphased and at times indifferent. Naturally when there was violence they would react as required or when the organisms sensed danger it would react. However, there was this effortless floating through life and freedom for all the organisms most of the time. That whatever happened or will happen, it was going to be okay for the organism. None of the organisms behaved erratically or overthought what was naturally going to happen it seemed. The thought which kept popping up whilst watching was “Imagine if my own life was like this…”
- Everything in that fish tank was beautiful with minimal interference. There didn’t need much to be done from my colleague except to feed the fish, clean the tank and change the water. There was a certain amount of work to keep it alive. However, too much interference by my colleague and the whole environment suffered. Too much cleaning, adding too many new organisms and too much light killed the organisms. In so many instances in my own life, when I interfere too much with things, I get burnt. If I just accepted things outside by control and only focused on what I could do, then I would be in less pain.
- The fish tank was beautiful not because it was perfect but because of its imperfections. There were some areas of the death and ugliness. There were some areas of life and rebirth. It was the duality of these that made everything beautiful. It was never going to be a perfect environment. Like my own life, all my problems will never be solved. All my infinite desires will never be fulfilled…
Maybe our lives aren’t much different to the organisms living inside the fish tank. Everything I said could be applied to my own life. We are two legged animals living on this spinning rock rotating around a bigger, hotter rock. We have slightly more brain power and reasoning than the rest of the animals in the animal kingdom. Like other animals in the animal kingdom, our lives could be so much simpler. But instead, we are attracted to and attached to everything in this world. We suffer endlessly throughout our whole lives and in most waking moments. No one except a handful of people on this earth sees the carnage which is their life.