Did you know that ants have resilient intelligence?

Did you know that in a flood fire ants will float as a community bonded together and they can stay this way for months? An ant can only stay under water for about 24 hours. For this reason, the floating ant colony is constantly shifting and moving so that no ant stays under water too long. If the ants stay together and hold onto one another they can survive. It is in their community bond that they develop resilience in the face of adversity. 

As I pondered the floating ant colony, I realized we can learn a few lessons from our fellow creatures in how to build resilience in our lives. I love how they interlink their legs and they just keep moving. It is when we turn to one another that we develop strength to be resilient to move through adversity. As we take time to listen and lift someone up as they share their story, we become what helps them to keep moving forward. 

I love the fact that ants do not let any ant stay under water too long. This makes me want to look around me and see in my community who needs to be lifted up. Who might need me to go down so they can go up for fresh air? 

If we seek to work together and help each other to keep moving to make sure that no one stays under water then we can keep each other from drowning in adverse situations. I love that the focus is on "us" not "me". The colony's survival is dependent on the survival of each ant. Fewer ants means greater exposure and vulnerability to predators or not enough in the colony to keep everyone above water. For an ant, isolation is dangerous. This is true for us as well. When left alone we are also vulnerable and at greater risk to predators and the elements. We need our community to process and find strength.

How can you build teamwork within your family, community, or work environment? What can you do to ensure that no person is left behind or underwater too long? What needs to happen with communication to check up on each other? How do you provide a safe place so that people feel that they can say, "Help, I am drowning?" Are you willing to move underwater for a period so someone else might move up to the surface? Can you trust those around you to provide a way for you to move out of the underwater conditions in a safe time? How can you assure those around you that you are willing to help them if they are underwater too long? 

The ants resilient strength is born in their community and willingness to move together and make a safe place for all in the colony. They are able to survive for long periods of time because they work together. Without each other, they will not survive and will be picked off by predators. What do you need to do to develop resilient intelligence like an ant?