Humans and dung beetles

DNA studies indicate that the species to which humans are most closely related is the chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes. While chimpanzees certainly have human characteristics, I suggest that the species to which we are more closely connected, by behavior if not by DNA, is the dung beetle, a member of the genus Scarabaeus. The similarity of humans to dung beetles is obvious, if a bit metaphorical. The dung beetle goes through life rolling its ball of dung along just as we go through life clutching, and focused on, our possessions.

Evidence abounds to support my claim, both statistical data and anecdotal observations. For example, statistics show that for many of us, our eyes are bigger than our living space. About one out of ten households rent storage space, and of that group, two thirds have garages in their houses. Further, there is enough space in storage units for the entire population to stand.

While internet is filled with other statistics about clutter (e.g., in about a quarter of households with two-car garages, those garages are so filled with other items that there is not room to park even one car), our own observations are good enough to confirm that we are drowning in stuff . For example, a drive down a typical residential street shows garages and side yards bursting with possessions, everything from camping gear to air conditioners and table saws to extra bedroom sets. Estate sales offer telling and often touching examples of the flotsam and jetsam of lives filled with things and more things, and they are reminders of the tenuousness both of our lives and of the connections we have to our dear possessions. Indeed, we cannot take it with us. None of it.

Nietzsche famously noted that if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze into you.  We can use that phrase to understand the danger posed by our possessions: if you become too distracted by your possessions, they will possess you.