Being human is fucking hard.
Being a Mayfly is not. They hatch, molt, mature, then die. In just 24 hours, the carriage of death has passed them by.
From the moment you rise, piss, and cave into Lucky and his charming ways for breakfast, the Mayfly has begun its metamorphosis from nymph to nymphomaniac.
Unlike Kafka’s ill-fated Gregor Samasa, whose slow demise from human to cockroach permitted time for existential questioning, the Mayfly’s metamorphosis is rapid and question-less. It lives just one day. And, cruel as it is, their maker does not even afford them a mouth. It fears the world’s competing charms might interfere with their divine duty on this planet. So, while Gregor and his cockroach friends are found munching on your sugary cereals, the Mayfly is already in search of a mate.
Because, sex is its duty. Its purpose.
Suddenly, you might find yourself envious of a tiny insect whose job has been to fuck for the last 350 million years. But then again, the life of the Mayfly is a bit terrifying. It spends roughly a year awaiting its birth, only to trade its virginity in for a coffin.
What we should envy though is not the sex. Answering a deep, philosophical question concerning the nature of the Mayfly’s existence is unnecessary. Its presence on this earth is well-defined. I want that. It used to be like that.
Like the lifespan of the Mayfly, early humans spent a brief time on earth. Relative to now, at least. 22 years was an average life expectancy for the Paleolithic human. They lived long enough to reach a reproductive age, find a mate, and pass on their genetics via offspring. Additionally, most of their time was spent hunting and gathering. Surviving. Thus, free time was almost non-existent, rare.
With the introduction of technology and medicine, we now live longer. Therefore, each waking moment is not spent on the prairie strategizing the killing of buffalo. Instead, we mindlessly scroll through Threads, and Tik-Tok now. Life spans lengthened, and attention spans shortened.
Free time is hell. If not actively working towards some grandeur, and leaving an impression on this world even after I’m dead, I feel like a degenerate. I’m wasting my life. Though, this “I like turtles zombie kid” is pretty funny. Precisely why the Mayfly gets more pussy than me. I need to get off this shit. Being a human is fucking hard. Its bullshit.
I should have been a Mayfly.