Day ONE

...There was the ant.  And although she did not know it, she was good.  For many years she roamed the earth, and spent much time seeking, but seeking what, she didn't know.  She only knew that when she found it, it would show that she was good.

The problem was, that no matter where she went, that good thing was not there.  Not under the rocks, not under the sand, not under the sea.  Not even in the mirror, sometimes.  Sometimes, she did know though, that little points of inspiration would sprout out from under her nails.  People might laugh, her momma might smile, and then it was Spring!

Years past, and one day, she met someone who looked like her.  He was sad too, and was looking for that good thing, just like her!  Although they were different; he a grasshopper, and she, an ant, he felt like home.  Its true, he had different clothes, and liked different favorite things, but they had much in common. The funny thing was, he had been looking under different rocks, sand, and waters too, to find the thing that would make him good.  But it didnt matter, because they both understood what they wanted.  What luck! What fortune!  Love was the fruit, and security, and surety.  

It wasnt all roses though, at least not one without thorns.  Those spikey little stems, would sometimes draw blood, or tears..but it was okay, because he was still here. And they knew that spikes, tears, and droplets of blood were small prices to pay for someone like your family, as they now were.

After awhile, little children came.  And it was good.  The spikes were still there, but now the laughter of their treasures shadowed the harsh points.  It was tiring, and more stuff had to be done.  And sometimes, often times, those things were done out of balance between the grasshopper and the ant. 

The grasshopper in this story worked hard though, but only in the things that the grasshopper wanted.  The ant worked hard too, and sometimes felt that her load was too heavy.  But it was okay, even if things felt unfair because they were family, the ant and grasshopper with their little children.

Years passed.  And as the treasures began to shine even more brightly, the thorns that had been there before began to hurt more.  The softness of the earlier life was becoming matted, you see, and the shiny brightness of the family was now being worn down to a warm golden glow, that while nice,wasn't  shiny and new anymore.

The ant was getting upset because the grasshopper seemed to want to play his violin in the fields more and more, leaving the ant alone more and more to take care of the farm by herself.  Resentment grew, until the ant herself could not understand why she was always tired, angry and lonely.  

It must be me, she thought, and went to the doctor, the therapist, her friends.  But deep inside, she was getting more and more mad at the grasshopper, who was still working hard but playing in the fields too.  He didn't understand why the ant was mad, but he was starting to get mad too, because he didn't want to be bothered by the ant anymore.  "That darn ant," he would think, "if she would only go away, then everything would be alright".

The grasshopper talked to his friends in the field, and they agreed with him.  "That ant, she is so, so mean!  You can find a much nicer bug here with us!"  The poor ant, had no idea that the grasshopper was even thinking of such a thing- she only knew that she was really unhappy.  "Why can't he be nice?" she thought, "and help me get our house all nice and ready so we can finally rest and play?".

In the end, it didn't matter because the grasshopper would get tired of the ant no matter what.   Eventually, after much sadness and frustration, the grasshopper realized that the good thing he had been seeking originally, wasn't here with the ant. You see, the grasshopper still had not yet realized that the good thing he wanted so badly was not in any field, or under any rock... But went to look there any way, convinced that that good thing was something hard and real to the touch.

And the ant, after all these years, started to remember what her journey had really supposed to have been about.  

She forgot that the real lesson she was always meant to learn in her searches was that she was, and always had been, good.  And while that knowledge was not something hard and real to touch, she realized that it was more solid and important than anything else she had encountered before (along with their treasures).

 In fact, it was good.