A Bug-Free Universe

WHY ARE THERE BUGS IN THE UNIVERSE? This is an egocentric question. Human beings are latecomers in this world, compared with bugs. But to our eyes, and especially skin, bugs are a nuisance, at times a menace. They disturb us with buzz, bite, itch, swellings, disease. We learn, too, that our world and bodies are populated by invisible as well as visible bugs, and we are unwilling hosts at their mercy.

Many years ago, as a counselor at the Henry Street Settlement House camp, I was forced to do unpleasant things, like put worms on hooks, so that disadvantaged children could have a nice time. One day in the woods we were having an especially nice time. We had gone fishing and were putting up tents for the night. Soon we would be roasting marshmallows over a fire. One of the boys, a Jehovah's Witness, broke my absorption by blurting out, “It's great. But I hate the bugs. Why do there have to be bugs?” It was an in-your-face question and I had to answer it. The boy was serious. The rest of the night hung in the balance. I shrugged, then found myself saying, “To make sure you know you’re not in heaven yet.” He nodded, and we went on with our sleepout.

In recent years, more and more patients have come in wishing for a bug-free universe. In one form or another, it is an ancient wish. Religions promise a bug-free state someday, only not now. At times, it seems, religions treat the universe as a bug to be free of—life is the bug. Some promise freedom from suffering (a bug) by following their path. My patients do not want the bug-free life later. They want it now. They do not want freedom from suffering through a discipline. They expect it just by being. They wish to wish suffering away. Deep down they feel they can will bugs out of the universe. They live by an unconscious imperative that there ought not be pain in their lives.

This contrasts with patients who are willing to suffer for the promise of getting better. There are tormented souls who laugh at painlessness. For them, a