(Preserving the Ecology That Sustains Us)
There are thousands of incredibly gifted life-forms on our planet. Research reveals this to be true in respect to both microcosm and macrocosm forms – whatever their visibility to the human eye.
But which is the smartest? The word smart derives from a German word which means to pain – to feel intensely. This meaning gradually evolved in usage to designate something that was forceful and vigorous and, finally, into today’s usage as a reference to being keen and clever – quick witted. It has become a synonym for the word wise. The question I pose is:
Which of the planet’s species is the wisest?
Which is smarter than all the others?
We humans will quickly answer that question to be ourselves. We are the keenest and most clever. We are the quick-witted. We are the wisest of all earth’s creatures. We are the smartest life form.
However, there is a Sioux Indian proverb that would challenge this self-evaluation and suggest that there is another low-life creature that might be smarter than humans – a creature which we normally view as fairly dumb in the order of things. I will let you decide whether it is humans or this creature. Here is the proverb.
The frog does not drink up the pond in which it lives.
Robert
mythinglink.com
