Finding the Source isn't the Solution

When I was back at home, we ran into a problem. - gnats.

They didn't crowd us by the masses, but there would also be one..two..three gnats every so often flying around my head, landing in my food, chilling in my bathtub. Every time I saw one, I'd kill it. Heck, it got so annoying that once, it landed on my food that was going into my mouth, and I just ate it with no hesitation.

I ate a gnat. On purpose. And it felt good.

You see, each gnat was a minor problem to me. It was annoying, and the longer I had to deal with this problem, the more annoying it got, until it reached a point where I got used to it. But I knew that this was a problem, and killing it one by one was obviously not working. I needed to find the source. What was causing all the gnats to come!?

Obviously, if I find the source and get rid of it, then I could get rid of all the gnats right?

Nope.

I looked online and found that these gnats were probably fungus gnats that are attracted to plants and soil in the house. My mom's favorite, ten year old plant was the source. We tried everything, sprayed pesticides, tried some vinegar/soap trap, hairspray, coffee filters, and even stopped giving it water so the soil would be unattractive to the gnats. It didn't work.

Finally, we told her to send the plant out. At least for a few days. But she was afraid it'd die. She would rather live with the gnats than part with the plant (I guess moms just like to grow plants when their kids move out). This caused some stress in the house because I always complained about the gnats and about how I hated it going up my nose.

The problem with these gnats is that if you don't get rid of it. Then they spread to other plants (they did). These plants gradually get "diseased" by the gnats and in the end, all the plants lose out, not just one. If we act too late, the gnats will spread and multiply and conquer!

Yes, that was a little dramatic, but it's true.

Sometimes, we think that once we find the source of a problem, then it's easy to solve it. But are you willing to go the extra mile to solve the problem?

It's one thing to know what's wrong. It's another to have the willpower to act upon it.