The Zen of Flies
Stay open to feedback, put things into perspective, and pay attention.
Is there a more annoying creature known to mankind than the common housefly? Less disgusting than a roach, but more aggressive. Less erratic than a spider, but more mobile. It’s as small and insignificant as they come, but if persistent enough, it can still spoil a pleasant summer afternoon.
Hate is a strong word, but to say I dislike these creatures wouldn’t really express the darkness I have in my heart for them. They seem to exist for no other purpose than to eat garbage and spread disease. Wouldn’t any normal situation in life be made worse if flies were added to it, and better if they were removed?
What should I do when a single fly invades my space and annoys the hell out of me? First, I shouldn’t really let it get to me in the first place. Second, I should try some practical solutions, like opening a window and turning on a fan near it, or there’s always the old rolled-up newspaper.
It’s the first of these solutions, to not get annoyed at flies in the first place, that I’ve realised is easier said than done. At first I could only imagine what it would take to be totally unfazed by the presence of a fly. I’d have to be some sort of zen master, or a stoic emperor, with an enormous amount of control over my own emotions.
Unfortunately I’m neither zen master nor stoic emperor, and I’m unlikely to become one any time soon. Instead, I’ve come up with three techniques, based on three sources of traditional wisdom on flies, to help me manage when I feel annoyed. Of course it’s hard to find general rules which apply to all annoying situations, but you’ve got to start small. I’m starting with the common housefly.
1 — Stay Open To Feedback
From the nursery rhyme: ‘There once was an old lady who swallowed a fly.’
The first technique, drawn from a pretty grisly nursery rhyme, is all about not persisting too much in a plan that is clearly not working. In that sense, it’s a corrective mechanism to make sure any other techniques I employ when I feel annoyed don’t end up backfiring.
