There’s a video going around, in which this confused ant becomes trapped in a tiny circle. The message appears “Limits Exist Only in the MIND” and sure enough, the poor ant lost in a circle offers visible proof.
Of course, there are follow up videos since, showing how an ant may, or in fact may not, become trapped within a quickly drawn ink circle. Scientifically speaking, the primary navigation method for ants is a chemical one, usually following pheromone trails left behind by other ants, or when searching out aromatic food sources.
Any ant, when confronted with the smell the fresh ink, immediately recognizes this as unfamiliar, and seeks out the original chemical path back home. Perhaps the fresh ink is also distracting to the ant, causing the small minded creature to just follow the strongest chemical scent. (but then, who hasn’t been distracted by vapors raising off a new ink marker?)
Whatever the reductionist reason attributable to ants wanderings, the traps encircling our minds are more metaphorical. We could say “limits exist only in the mind” but is that really the end of it? Why even limit our minds in the first place? What is the nature of these limits, can they be revealed, explored, and overcome? Perhaps just acknowledging they exist, restricting our conscious awareness, is motivation enough to tear these limits down.
Hopefully, humans are better equipped than our fellow ants at perceiving these self imposed limits….
