Stand Out like an Aardvark to Pitch In
How aligning our oddities with our environment benefits everyone
Welcome to Oatmail, the Environ-Mental Health blog about nature's design to help you un-learn and re-learn how to be human from the species we share space with. I hope that my words will help you develop coping mechanisms to be well in today’s climate-changed world and the sustenance to grow a better tomorrow. Read until the end for the climate call to action.
Today’s lesson: self-establishment as inspired by the aardvark.
The Aardvark: Solitary and Strong, Endearing and Awkward
Again and again, facts that I learned about aardvarks returned me to the number 1. Aardvarks feature the first letter of the alphabet (x3) and claim the position of the first word in the Dictionary. They are the only remaining animal of their order, Tubulidentata, a word I did not know that I needed in my life. Aardvarks only live in 1 continent, Africa (Their name is Afrikaans and translates to “earth pig.”)
The number 1 stands apart. It bears a strong presence visually represented by a straight line clean of curves or too many angles. Any extra design components would take away from the number 1’s solitary and strong identity that separates none from all.
Likewise, aardvarks are solitary creatures both behaviorally and in essence. They look so different that they remind me of Frankenstein’s monster. So many features from the animal kingdom are cobbled together: an elephant’s skin, a kangaroo’s legs, a rabbit’s ears, a hog’s snout, a possum’s tail, and what I call “finger hooves.” All together, the result is what I consider to be one darn cute animal, endearing and awkward.
From Popular to Prominent through Self-Establishment
The aardvark’s looks remind me of pre-pubescence, when our individual features become prominent whether or not we want them to. At this age, one of my greatest desires was to be accepted and approved of. I looked down upon the features that set me apart from lifestyles I saw in popular media. The desire to be liked motivated my actions from performing well in school to the foods that I ate and the words that I said. I thought that approval would lead me to success, but I stunted how successful I could be by ensnaring myself in self-criticism.
Institutions teach us to replicate what those have done before us by following paths that we see around us. For example, we take standardized courses to gain certifications. However, we also reward those who forge new paths and share their originality to contribute to the world. I am stumbling through this realization as I enter the workforce. When colleagues tell me what they expect me to do, I’m learning that they are really asking me to teach them in return. That way, we pick up each other’s slack when we get tired and complement one another’s abilities to build progressive results. No TED talk or course could create self-establishment, although they do encourage it. The leap from student to reciprocating expert must originate from within.
Using Strange Tools to Success
As an animal of striking difference in appearance and skill, the aardvark reflects my vision of efficaciousness through self-establishment.
Described by scientists as a “living fossil,” the aardvark is the most evolved phase of an ancient journey in strengthening connections: connecting the subject’s attributes to the setting so that challenges are met with solutions.
For instance, in a climate with restricted food sources, aardvarks eat ants and termites. Compared to their apex predator counterparts that populate the sahara, an aardvark’s insect diet is a peculiar feature. Rather than compete in the melee, aardvarks come out at night. They use their supreme sense of smell, better than any other mammal, to sniff out food underneath the surface without inhaling the dirt. This video exposes their snouts as imposing machines.
Aardvarks have developed clawed hooves in response to the sahara’s tough dirt surface and the crust of subterranean insect mounds. When aardvarks smell insects below, they dexterously break ground and extend their long tongues to gather as much as 50,000 insects in a night. While huge noses and clawed hooves may not attract as much attention as lions and jaguars, these evolved features sustain aardvarks at human sizes of 130-180 pounds and up to 7 feet long with their tails extended.
Difference by Design
Aardvarks’ peculiarities developed for a reason, but we don’t offer the same credence to our peculiarities when they arise. We are self-conscious of our differences, call them out in others, and try to suppress our mannerisms more often than uplift them. Our biological design follows the same principles of the aardvark’s and is evolved to best fit our environments. Even though a nose might appear out of place and embarrass us, it is a priceless heirloom that survived generations of evolution.
What if we treated our behaviors, like our genes, as potential tools in our evolutionary progress? Consider how the aardvark avoids the carnage that captivates most saharan mammals in its size range and instead comes out at night to uncover ants. What if we mimicked this behavior and aligned our actions toward success within our habitats rather than following culturally admired actions that we are not suited to perform?
Our Behaviors Become Us
One of my favorite topics, coffee, can serve as an analogy for disbanding from the crowd. Instead of continuing on the loop of America’s brown fuel economy, I have the choice to stop my hand from reaching for another cup. In addition to physiological influence, this behavior is emblematic of a mentality. Opting out of another cup of coffee would switch me from herd mentality to depending on myself for my source of motivation. Rather than staying hard-wired to completing the task at hand, I would employ original thought and critical problem solving to determine a better course toward long-term success. We establish ourselves through our reinforced behaviors.
Self-establishment is not only beneficial to ourselves but also to everyone around us. In standing by my unique decisions through dedicated thought and advocational communication, I more effectively support the people that I interact with. My skills and beliefs bring an authenticity that people-pleasing cannot duplicate, and this authenticity is what others seek and benefit from. I may not be popular, but I do practice to model the honest and healing behavior that I wish to see in the world.
Lending and Burrowing from Aardvark Angel Investors?
All ecosystems succeed through supportive exchanges between unique species. Even though they are solitary creatures, aardvarks’ actions do not exist in solitude but influence the environment with which they interact. In the saharan setting, other animals benefit from the aardvark’s digging capabilities. Aardvarks create their homes out of burrows in the ground. Since they require a large quantity of insects over a wide range of land, aardvarks will create temporary burrows and move burrows every once in a while just like we vacation and move to new homes. The burrows that the aardvarks leave behind provide valuable shelter to vulnerable species that are unable to make their own burrows, so the aardvarks help out other animals without even knowing it.
All of our actions enact change in the environment around us and the people we interact with. How much we take accountability for our influence and take advantage of our influence depends upon us. As the word “establishment” implies, dedication and consistency generate brilliant results. We must direct our critical lens not on our unique assets, but on our behaviors in relation to those around us. We must design our habits to alignment that maximizes our skills and accommodates for our weaknesses. Look at your lifestyle from evolution’s perspective. A thousand years from now, what would your current habits develop? Who will they have helped and how will you have contributed?
For all their differences, aardvarks are special to African tradition. Aardvarks are African symbols of strength and resilience, and it’s lucky to see an aardvark since they are such quiet and hidden creatures. In Africa they make bracelets out of aardvarks’ teeth—which continuously wear away and are regrown—for good luck. Take that as an incentive to adorn yourself in your oddities as jewelry to make the world a little brighter.
Climate Call to Action
Money is an important demonstration of our values as individuals and establishes us as individuals in an economy of exchange. Take a look at your budget and see what it says about who you are and what you are growing for the future. Then see how you can redesign your budget, just as any other behavior, as an expression of your unique identity.
If you desire a zero-carbon emission future so that our planet can continue to harbor us and all other species, create a recurring donation to a charity that is bringing about that change. Divest from fossil fuels and invest instead in companies growing a greener future.
It’s easy to put off these actions for some future you that has more expendable income, but correct this temptation. Be the person you want to be today in order to grow the person you wish to be in the future. See how many times you eat out or purchase a cup of coffee in a month. Reduce that number by just one or two and donate that amount instead. I donate $5 a month to Earth Justice (because the earth needs a good lawyer) and will grow that investment over time as I can afford to.
Links:
Wikipedia; Aardvarks
BBC Earth Unplugged; Cute Aardvark
African Wildlife Foundation; Aardvarks
Nature Travel Africa; Aardvark
EarthJustice