Worm Theology

You can’t have butterflies without caterpillars! I was about kindergarten age and picking caterpillars with my grandpa from his cauliflower plants. Although my grandpa was an ardent gardener, the instruction was clear: “Pick as many as you can but no problem if you leave one or two behind.” It is age-old wisdom shared by many cultures around the world.

    The next year when our next-door neighbor started to keep a flock of chickens, my grandpa let them into his vegetable garden and my caterpillar picking duty was over. The cabbage whites did not disappear altogether. An occasional butterfly still fluttered around, but the pest infestation was over. Chickens clearly followed the same rule picking most, but not all of caterpillars.
     When we lived in upstate New York I had exactly the opposite experience. In a hysterical fit our neighbor discovered a wasps’ nest under the roof of her garage. It was not causing anyone any harm, but she was convinced that it was too close to their swimming pool. She sent her husband to dose the nest with at least one insecticide spray. They never stopped buying insecticides, bottle after bottle all rest of that year. Without wasps nearby, caterpillars got out of control in their small vegetable garden. Their garden was turned into a lifeless chemical battlefield. I would not touch their kohlrabi with a ten-foot pole, they fed them to their kids.
     Only stupid and greedy gardeners and farmers try to eliminate all the pests. Healthy gardens always have few cabbage whites fluttering around. I believe it is a deep spiritual truth which is integrated into the very essence of our world and a part of what I call worm theology. Even creatures whom we call vermin deserve to live. You won’t have butterflies without caterpillars! Come to celebrate, be empowered and transformed by worm theology.

Of course this is an inchworm and not a cabbage white caterpillar, but I like it as an alternative gesture to pesticides.