Walking down the street one day I looked down and saw that I was about to step on a beetle.
I stopped and let him pass. The beetle stopped so I went down to ground level and said in a very quiet voice 'Sorry there little buddy, didn't see you almost'.
The beetle, who I decided to call'Mr Beetle', didn't say anything of course.
I looked for any visible signs that he recognised my presence or had accepted my apology, but as far as I could see he just seemed to be taking a rest.
After a few minutes he motored away into the grass and I never saw 'Mr Beetle' again.
So I continued on my way, and actually after the excitement of the last few minutes I had forgotten where I was going. How odd.
So I turned around and walked home.
On the way home I realised I had made a few mistakes talking to 'Mr Beetle'. My first mistake was to patronise the Beetle by calling him 'little buddy'...that ain't good. But it just seemed to be a natural thing to say. No harm was intended, that's for sure.
Secondly, and more damning was that I named him, and what's more I named him 'Mr Beetle'. He has his own name of course. I wouldn't go up to a stranger in the street and say 'Hey Joe Nibbles, do you have the time?'. No, I would say 'Excuse me sir, do you perchance have the time of day?'.
And I should not have assumed the Beetle was male by calling him Mister.
But the Beetle did not complain. That is the great thing about insects, they don't complain about their lot in life, they just get on with it and ignore all of the unneccessary stuff.
I think I will base my life around the Beetle philosophy this year. Last year it was the Dolphin philosophy which worked out quite well, but I guess it's time for a change.
Anyway, thanks for listening, have yourself a fab day won't you!