Snail in the Drain

Become a Fan

05/19/2010

Snail in the Drain

When I was in primary school, school was but a 10 minute walk away at Ah Hood Road. The journey to school involved walking on this long path between the main road and next to a drain. Usually after it rained (not unlike today), the pathways would be littered with common snails who have lost their way, and meander haphazardly onto the path, living them potential targets of being crushed by passers by, and possibly becoming roadkill should they wonder on the path ahead.

I remembered thinking of myself as the hero for snails at that time. Actively kicking each wandering snail back to the grass they crawled from. In my zest, they frequently ended up falling into the drain as well.

"No worries!" I thought

"they will be able to crawl back up stronger!"

I find myself reflecting back on this action.

Did my well intentioned actions serve to do more harm than good? Would the snail be able to recover from the fall in the drain, something I had assumed that it would? Would irreparable damage be done on the snail's shell?

Would the snails be even more disoriented and then return to the pavement back to danger? Am I just buying more time to quell my guilt?

Ultimately, is being hurt better than being crushed?

How do you practice the principle of doing no harm, when harm is inflicted whichever stance you take?

Ironically these thoughts came flooding to me this morning when I accidentally stepped on a snail on a morning jog... =(

Disclaimer: I am in no way comparing clients to snails. If you think so, you probably think that school going children are being compared to those Starfishes which end up on the shore.

Posted at 10:31 AM in CASE MANAGEMENT, MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES, SOCIAL ISSUES | Permalink

Tags: do no harm, Do No Harm, Drain, Singapore, snails, social worker, starfish