Sometimes I do this weird visualization exercise where I imagine I'm a maggot.
Yeah, you read that right. Once in awhile, I picture myself as larva that feasts on rotting flesh.
No, please don't leave. Hear me out. I spent a lot of time in the forest as a kid. I'd watch the way the animal world works - life and death always in flux. Feasting and fighting for survival. Every once in awhile, I'd observe maggots having their way with decaying animal carcasses. I guess this must've stuck with me or something, because I seem to think about maggots a lot.
But why actually visualize that I am one, you ask?
It's not a method of self-flagellation, I swear. Sometimes I just need perspective, especially in times where I feel unseen and insignificant. Moments where I don't feel I have a shining purpose. In the past year or so, I've had some experiences that led me to feel extremely small and unworthy, vacuous, and even ugly. Maggot-like, if you will.
But you know what? Maggots do more than just consume dead organisms. They clean and disenfect dead and infected tissue from human wounds, too. They accelerate healing. Believe it or not, there is actually a whole sector of medicine dedicated to the healing powers of maggot therapy. I know you're probably grossed out just thinking about it. Same here, but apparently it's promising.
So whenever I'm feeling inconsequential and lacking in some way, I envision myself as being a tiny ravenous maggot. Just a freaky little 21 celled organism that everyone is repulsed by. Not only is it humbling, but it is also a good reminder that no matter how insignificant or terrible something seems, it always has a purpose.