The World in a Fish Bowl
My son recently gave me a fish bowl for my birthday. He is a biology major and he knows all about balanced eco systems.
When I was a child, I was taught to put rocks and plastic plants in my fish bowl. Then, when the water got dirty, I was taught to catch the fish in a net and put them in a small bowl of water, while I scrubbed out the tank with soapy water, and then replaced the fish, plastic plants and rocks. Then I had to do the whole thing all over again in a few weeks when the water got dirty. It never solved any problem, but kept me in a constant cycle of work.
My son bought the contents of the fishbowl for my birthday and he taught me about balanced ecosystems with his knowledge of nature and biology. He purchased live plants and put them in my fish bowl along with a beta fish, a snail, and shrimp. My son then taught me that the snail would clean the insides of the bowl and the shrimp would eat the extra waste at the bottom of the fish bowl. He told me that eventually I would not have to clean out my fish bowl, but that in a balanced ecosystem, the system would naturally take care of itself.
Well, it didn’t work out quite that way. The water was dirty, and the shrimp hid under the large rocks that my son had placed in the bowl. I watched with curiosity, wondering what was wrong with the system. Turns out that the beta fish, who I named Rocky, was a big fat selfish narcissistic bully. Rocky thought that he owned the place. When the shrimp were originally placed in the fish bowl, they happily went about their job, cleaning the bottom of the tank. However, they soon learned that they couldn’t do their job because Rocky wanted everything. He wanted to swim where he wanted to swim, and if he saw anything at all in his way, he was a bigger fish than the cute little shrimp, and he would chase them ferociously until they hid and cowered. The little shrimp soon learned that they didn’t have any power. Rocky was too big. The water became dirtier and dirtier as I would put food in my fishbowl to feed Rocky and he would hungrily eat it, while chasing the shrimp under the rocks, and then he would rule the tank and swim exactly where he felt like swimming.
My son taught me to clean the water in a new manner. He bought a suction and taught me how to place the top part of the suction in the fish tank, then the suction, which was connected to a long tube, was placed on the floor with an empty bottle to fill the dirty water with. My son taught me that I do not empty all of the water, but I only empty some of it, as to not ruin the natural balance of the ecosystem, and then I replace the dirty water with some clean, fresh water, in the top of the tank. This way, my son explained, we are not destroying the natural ecosystem. My son said that the water then would eventually clean itself.
Hmmmmm. It still wasn’t working. What in the world could be the problem? I sat and watched the dastardly Mr. Rocky ruling his own little world. He was not only a bully, but he was a narcissistic King. No one got in Rocky’s way. I related this to my son. He then explained to me that beta fish have been trained to be bullies.
One day I was dealing with a narcissistic bully myself, in real life, and I could no longer tolerate anything bully. I saw one of my cute little red shrimp try to come out from under a rock, for just a moment, but then Rocky came at him with a vengeance, and chased the little fellow away. Out came my fish net, and I summarily flushed the narc. That was the end of Rocky.
My son purchased three tiny golden schooling tetras to place in my fish tank. They are darling. The do not want to rule the tank. They just want to play, share the tank with everyone else, and live in fish bowl peace.
My fish bowl water was still dirty for a little while. I had to drain the water with the suction a few times, but suddenly the water ran clear. I was absolutely amazed as I watched the little shrimp come out, no longer ruled by King Rocky, and they lovingly do their job, by eating the waste at the bottom of the tank. My snail beautifully glides along, cleaning all sides of my tank, and my three tetras dance and playfully swim. The live plants in the bowl are thriving. And I no longer have to continually clean the fish bowl water, as now I have an ecosystem in perfect balance.
This world has become a filthy stinky fish bowl with Rockies everywhere. The narcissists rule, trying to chase the little guys with fear, and they bully them with their power and money. Enough is enough. It is time to stand up to the bullies and flush them out of the system, so that everyone can live in harmony and peace.
I could have sat here year after year, buying plastic plants, and scrubbing out my fish tank forever. I could have allowed Rocky to rule the roost, continually suctioning out the filth in perpetuity – a never ending cycle - EXHAUSTING. Or, I could simply honor and live in harmony with nature and do what nature taught me to do. Utilize natural plants. Flush out the bullies in the system. And voilà the system naturally takes care of itself while everyone lives in perfect harmony.
©akirataylor
