Yesterday as I watched the National Geographic Channel, I came to learn of the Fish called The Electric Eel for the first time, actual name is Electrophorus electricus. The fish is commonly found in the Amazon and generally in Fresh Waters. In the narration of the documentary, Electric Eels are mostly blind although they are not born blind. To me they are such beautiful creatures and I was wondering how come they are blind? I then read about them and came to understand that these animals have three pairs of abdominal organs that produce electricity as a form of defensive mechanism against predators. Whenever the animal is under attack, it activates an electric field of up to 860 Volts (that is nearly 4 times the 220V electricity supplied to our homes) to electrocute its attacker. The Eel also requires rising to the surface of the water every 10 minutes in order to take in Oxygen before going back under the water. Due to this routine, the fish has developed a mindset that it is vulnerable to attack due to constant coming up to breathe and hence it is always on a ‘suspicion mission’ – It is always and constantly electrocuting its environment even when it is not under attack. The sad effect is that in the course of continuous electrocuting of its environment its eyes are also electrocuted and hence its blindness! But then as I watched this animal swimming around blind and only using its sense of feel and ears, and been unable to see, it goes into more suspicion and every movement it feels in the waters, it releases further electric shock worsening his plight – The animal thus goes into a cyclic paranoia and self infliction of pain causing it to be more blind irreversibly.
You see such is the situation in some people’s life. They suspect everybody and everything! They are always on a mindset of ‘someone is doing me’, ‘something evil is coming to happen to me’, ‘someone is planning to harm me’, etc. By having this kind of mental picture such people release shock waves that electrocutes whoever comes near them. Friends who mean well, are branded enemies, parents are considered evil, siblings are suspected of hatching evil plots, work colleagues are branded enemies, Etc. When people go into such self-destruct mode, all they think about is themselves and not the feelings of others. The desire to protect ones self end up in hurting others. Let us all strive to cultivate a positive attitude of love. let brotherly love continue. In other words, treat each other in a brotherly manner. Think and reflect about these things.