Life Lessons a Mosquito Can Teach You

           "If you think you are too small to make a
            difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” –
            attributed to the Dalai Lama XIV

 Bzzzzzzz. We all know this sound. We all know the nightmares and suffering it can produce during our much-needed and desired sleep. We all know when this creature is approaching. Its revealing buzz, simply unstoppable and greatly feared by us. This amazing little creature is even more amazing than we think. Its simplicity can teach us more than what we could ever have imagined…

 1. Never Give Up
What a cliché. Never give up. It is one of those life tips
that we find in almost every life guide. Far from being
useless, it is surely a must. Mosquitoes get this idea
pretty well. They can simply pass all night trying to get
into our ear, or trying to suck all of our blood. If a pea-
sized creature can give its maximum effort, why can’t
we? We should at least be able to put up with a
mosquito. We can always go farther, and when it
comes to our dreams and passions, never giving up is
the key to achieving these.
Never forget that refusing to give up is a way of seeing
life. It is about learning that, even though life is
supposed to flow, part of this beautiful experience is
building the momentum and going for it! Just as
Thomas A. Edison said, “Results! Why, man, I have
gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things
that won’t work”.
2. Don’t Underestimate
We tend to underestimate things for their appearance.
Size, for example, is one of those misleading qualities.
We might think that because something or someone is
small, it is powerless and inferior, like an ant or a
mosquito. Did you know that an ant can hold more
than 100 times its own weight? Or that mosquitoes are
the deadliest animals on the planet?
Underestimating someone’s abilities because of their
appearance is just insanely misleading and
counterproductive. Like the example of the ant and
the mosquito, we find countless instances of
underestimation in life, such as underestimating the
ability of your mom to help you with your love
problems. If we want to flow in life, we should
acknowledge people for theirinner qualities and not
for their exterior appearance or the first impression
they give. Just as Toba Beta said: “Don’t belittle anyone
who you don’t recognize. Don’t be fooled by anybody
who underrates you”.
3. Accept
Ultimately, there will be times when we can´t beat the
mosquitoes. Sometimes they are just too fast and
somehow too powerful. It is a fight between the
mosquito and our will for sleeping. It is then we have
to learn to accept, which is one of the only ways to
really win over mosquitoes, or to manage life’s
casualties without painful attachments.
Accepting is one of Buddha´s life lessons, which
certainly give us the key forflowing in life and
managing life’s craziness. It is easier to flow with the
water current than to resist it. Accepting is learning
to let go, to be with the experience and don’t fight it.
Sometimes in life we find something we call Reverse
effort. As Alan Watts once wrote: “When you try to
stay on the surface of the water, you sink; but when
you try to sink you float. Whosoever would save his
soul shall lose it”.
4. Don’t Fear Taking Risks
Mosquitoes take this too far, yet they teach us that
taking a risk is worth it. For them, taking a risk is
ultimately necessary, for it is one of their ways to get
their food. Mosquitoes take the risk of fighting with an
animal which is enormously much bigger than them.
They don’t even try too hard to go all in, they just do it,
and even try to get into our brains! How courageous is
that?
Risk-taking is one of those much-feared things. It is
totally natural, for breaking out of our comfort zone is
hard and takes boldness. Yet risk-taking is certainly the
best way to learn, experience, and do the undone. We
humans are instinctively adventurous and committed,
just like any other being. This is what has led us to
thrive, evolve, and advance. Let’s go with our intuition
and instinct and use our abilities to fulfill our dreams
and passions. Just as Albert Einstein said: “A ship is
always safe at the shore—but that is NOT what it is
built for”.
5. Share
We are part of this universe, this world, this reality.
This is something we have forgotten. We are part of it,
rather than, owners of it, which is what we usually
think. Even though we might think that the former is
not true, our actions say the contrary. The way we
abuse the natural world, other beings, and even our
own species, proves that we want to conquer rather
than share and live as a whole.
Mosquitoes teach us that sharing is necessary for
living, for space and resources are a need of all.
Mosquitoes have equal right to live and be here. They
been here longer than us, for about 170 million
years already! If we learn to share not only space and
resources, but love, kindness, help, food, time, and
attention, our social life skills will get a boost.
Everyone loves to share with a gentle, sharing, and
respectful person. And not only that, the well-being
and satisfaction you feel from living interconnected
with all beings and sharing with others is priceless and
nameless. Just as Snoop Dogg said: “It ain’t no fun if
the homies can’t have none”.
6. Be Humble
Yes, we are advanced; yes, we have a lot of money;
yes, we have big houses, cars, buildings, and guns. Yes,
we have complex minds, prodigy pianists, violinists…
Yes, a mosquito drives us insane. Yes, we can´t
control the weather. Yes, we are powerless in front of
an angry volcano, a furious tornado, a violent tsunami.
We are not the most powerful, nor invincible, nor
infinite. We are mortal just as any other being. We are
in a continuous process of evolution and thriving. Life
is beautiful. We are here to coexist rather than to
oppress or repress. Mosquitoes teach us this simply
and easily by demonstrating to us that in a room, in
the forest, or anywhere, we are almost powerless in
front of them, and if we have insect repellent, we are
powerful for a couple of hours just to return to our
normal, ordinary, human state.
Life is much more enjoyable when we live together
and share together. There is no need to show
superiority over others. If we ever have the idea that
we are superior and invincible, certainly life will take
the task of showing us the contrary. Just as Thomas
Henry Huxley said: “Sit down before fact as a little
child, be prepared to give up every preconceived
notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever
abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing. I have
only begun to learn content and peace of mind since I
have resolved at all risks to do this. ”Good things come
when we are open to live! Go out and live life! Listen to
the mosquitoes and their wise bzzzzzzz!