What is in a Name?

I was enjoying a serene moment outside on the front porch. Daisy, my dog, was close by sitting in the shade when a butterfly began to dance around my little front porch garden. I watched as it met with each flower, rising into the air and then taking a brief fall allowing the wind to catch in its wings gliding some distance to a new section unexplored. Then, a new flying creature came into view. Was it an acquaintance of our passing friend? Both were beautiful, and both enjoyed the company of each other, visiting each flower, and playing in the vast open spaces that their wings could allow. But just as suddenly as this new creature flew into my vision a thought flew into my mind, “Oh, that’s a moth,” and my love was no longer.

Why was it that when I named this creature all my preconceived notions of what that creature is came to mind and diminished it entirely? What is really so different about a moth and a butterfly? Something that comes to mind is a moment when I was in 2nd grade or so. I have always loved animals and little creatures. killing spiders wasn’t so much a fear as the act of killing anything was. Every life was precious to me. I attended a catholic school at the time. Before school even started most people arrived early to play out in the yard and catch up with their friends. One morning while waiting for my own friends to arrive I was sitting on the curb when a pure white butterfly entered my field of vision. It began to roam around the parking lot. I thought this creature was beautiful, it was very small and seemed precious. This creature was pure and I felt, personally, it had spiritual implications. A red ball hurtled through the air to the other side of the lot.

A few of my classmates were playing four square and the ball was thrown at the head of someone who wasn’t playing by the rules, another classmate got mad at him and chucked the ball at his head, half playfully, half committing a sheer act of violence. The creature had landed and all the kids were running to retrieve the ball. I quickly stepped in front of the moth and told them to “watch out!” I wanted to share this finding I had with some of the other boys, so I asked them to take a look at how pretty the little guy was. They all came over and when I told them that it was a butterfly one of them laughed at me and said “That’s not a butterfly, that’s a moth!” I never thought I was a very smart kid, so I believed him instantly and flipped, “Ok, but look how pretty it is!”

As the moth took off to fly around I excitedly told them to watch. One of the kids got close to it and with one hand smacked it out of the air and proceeded to stomp toward it as if about to crush it under his foot. I lunged at his raised foot, just before he was about to bring it down to push it aside, saving the moth. He tried to do this again, but I smacked his foot out of the way. I looked up at him and told him “Stop” but he persisted. His friends began to tighten around me in a small circle and now I found myself squatting above the injured creature. His friends were joining in now trying to crush it, kill it. It was like a kung fu movie I watched where there was one person fighting many bad guys, completely surrounded, but somehow was able to defend themselves. I succeeded in that… for a little. Unfortunately, I was in a squat position and had no balance. One of the kids pushed me down, and then the other crushed the moth. They simply walked away. They didn’t say anything else, they just left me there alone with the dead moth.

I was left to think, how could people be so cruel? Would it have been different if it was a butterfly? Maybe, but even so, I had to think that my classmates (at a catholic school) were some of the cruelest people ever. My confusion about the entirety of the situation left me no other option but to sob over my late friend. That’s no way to start your day. Right before school even started I was devastated.

I went to tell one of my teachers in tears, and in between sobs, “They killed a moth! I tried so hard to protect it because it was so beautiful, but they killed it!” The teacher tried to console me but only said, “It’s just a moth.”

Nothing is just anything, and if I hadn’t said the same about my second flying pal like all my friends did back in 2nd grade I would have looked much more fondly at it as I sat there on my front porch.

So I think about this and I’m genuinely curious, what is in a name? A label? An ID? An ability to recognize something is an ability to recognize danger, but what about everything that isn’t dangerous? If I see a snake I’ll shy away. If it strikes at me is it actively wishing to kill me? Is it a poisonous snake? I don’t know, but maybe if I knew its name I could tell and act accordingly. What if it’s not poisonous at all? Would we kill a snake protecting its territory? If it doesn’t hurt us are we going to kill it because it doesn’t belong? Is it a pest? Is it encroaching on our land in some way? What if it does belong and then we kill it still, not knowing whether it belongs or not, the simplest solution, to kill. Is it the simplest solution? Or do we maybe hide behind the guise of optimization to justify our actions?

What about us living beside different creatures? So many different forms, some a little fuzzier than others. Others who look completely different, with different shades and different abilities, potentially different poisons, all that we don’t know. So what’s the difference between a butterfly and a human? What about a moth? What about a snake or a spider? Is it in the name? Is it in the actions? It’s certainly a collection of many characteristics, some nameable. What if we no longer had any idea what was what? No communication to transfer knowledge of form, characteristics, history, name, and no preconceived notion of what is in front of us? What then would enter our field of vision, and how would we perceive it?

But I don’t want to support the argument that “ignorance is bliss.” Rather, there was a moment, a moment just before I thought “Oh, it’s just a moth.” That moment was pure, but it wasn’t necessarily ignorant. Calling the moment anything takes away the meaning of the moment itself, simply as a moment. A moment when I saw something, two somethings that were beautiful, and maybe I will be able to find even further beauty in this world when I’m able to separate preconceived notions from the present moment and the somethings of our world.

Much love today and every day,

Matt Piper 🐅🌱