The Wisdom of the Cockroach

The Alchemist

Do you ever have one of those off days, where everybody just seems to talk superficial nonsense, and no matter how you try, you cannot relate to people?

After my near death experience, I felt like that for about eight years. One evening, I was sitting on my porch, wondering what had happened, when I saw a cockroach right in front of me. I was about to take off my shoe and do what people usually do to cockroaches, but it sat so perfectly still that I ended up taking a closer look.

I focused on its form, the perfect symmetry of its wings, the tiny hooks on its legs, its delicate joints, and suddenly, the most amazing realization popped into my head: Our repulsion is simply related to the images of dirt, bacteria, drains and garbage that we project onto these animals. These prejudices only stop us from receiving the deep wisdom of the cockroach, and all its lessons it has to offer to us.

Looking at it from this perspective, there really is nothing disgusting about these critters, quite the opposite: they are perfectly designed, beautiful and belong to creation just as much as you and I do. As a matter of fact, these animals can teach us a lot about survival, resilience and abundance!

That was my introduction to interspecies telepathy. Of course, I had no idea that the critter was talking to me. I was wondering whether I had gone completely insane, and if I should see a psychiatrist. However, the message seemed uplifting, it wasn’t any of the dark stuff that is associated with hearing voices. And it wasn’t really a voice either, it was a sensation of knowing that bloomed like a flower in my thoughts and felt so beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes.

Soon enough, I received more and more of these messages, from all kinds of animals, and even plants. These beings seemed to take the place of human companionship in my life, and before long, I realized that I was receiving answers to existential questions that no human had been able to explain to me. During my busy adult life, I had forgotten all about them, but now I was being given this deep knowledge, seemingly out of nowhere.

It took me another three years to find out about animal communication and that I wouldn’t need a psychiatrist or medication. During that time, my old life crumbled apart: Teaching languages became an unbearable burden to me, so I started freelancing from home. The music I was playing seemed increasingly meaningless and trivial to me. In other words: the monkey was leaving the circus.

I joined an online international group of women who were all practising and exploring their spirituality and gifts, where I could nurture my sensitivity and receive feedback. I was amazed at how effortless it became to relay messages from pets to their humans, or how to locate a lost animal no matter the distance. In the meantime, I sold all my musical instruments and equipment, and invested the money in art material.

During my childhood, I had drawn and painted incessantly, but had given it up like other children gave up playing with dolls once they became teenagers. I had forgotten how much it delighted and thrilled me to create an image on a blank sheet of paper, and how much fun it was just to experiment and learn from trial and error.

Isn’t it crazy how one little cockroach can change your whole life? Never be fooled by appearances!