do i love cockroaches?

is a question a asked in a comment to my previous post. while i wouldn't say i'm especially desirous of their presence in my life, i've begun to reconsider my attitude towards non-human life, in general. buddha, it is said, was willing to sacrifice his life for animals, and that made me think about what makes us avoid animals and insects as we do? fear and desire for personal health and safety? perhaps that's where it begins, but it quickly translates by association, and we find ourselves conditioned into a web of dislikes/aversions, as in all other shades of life.

fear can be transformed. no questions there. patience is a necessity though. in recent months, i've started to look deeply at the conditioning i've undergone with regards to nature. not just animals, but also clouds/rain, sun/heat, insects such as flies, and indeed - cockroaches :). unlike the buddha, i cannot say i love all animal life. at least, not yet. if i found myself face to face with a lion, i am more likely than not to collapse with fear. but change can be slow and gentle, and this is where patience comes in. for now, i take pleasure in simply observing a fly walk over my hand without wishing it away, or in smilingly witnessing the roaches burst out of the medicine box at lightning speed, or in sharing the walkway with a dog right by me and not flinching within. for me, these little changes are very big, because of the big subtraction of fear and the big multiplication of love they have brought. and i may never reach a stage where i can fearlessly stand face to face with a lion - in this lifetime - but the potential to grow is still limitless. and chances of success, i am confident, will be many.