Special the Pleco

All my life, my dad had a hexagonal fish tank, that has housed dozens of aquariums. Periodically, it sits in storage, and then gets set back up. We've had cichlids, angels, swordtails, Jackdempsies, Oscars, tetras, rams, tricolar and rainbow sharks, corydora and pictus catfish, but every tank always had a Pleco. And this tank was no different. But, this Pleco, was different than all the others. We named him Special, and the first weeks of having him, he liked to feed in the filter. Well, seeing that when he got a lot bigger, he might knock the filter off the tank, I flicked him in the back, to scare him. And scare him I did--had I known--the fish was traumatized, I thought, for life. He wouldn't come out from underneath his log; he would skitz out every time someone came near the tank. And for a long time he was like this.

Well, Special was such a frightened fish, that sometimes at night, he would panic, and rush so hard that it would cause a wake, that spilled water out of the tank. We didn't know what to do with him. For a few weeks, we thought to get rid of him, because the water could drip into the light socket, and start a fire, but nobody wanted to take him back. So, we were stuck with him. And good thing, too, because he is an interesting fish.

Well, today, Dad was doing his monthly cleaning of the tank, and the water and filter change, and I noticed something odd. Special's fin was up, as Dad was siphoning out the water. And not only that, Special was playing a game, where he'd move into the area that Dad was about to filter, and with his fin up--almost like he had a sense of humor--he lay there, and laugh. He wasn't afraid at all. It's still Special, he does the same bizarre top feeding that no other Plecostomus did. He still hides underneath his log all day. But he's completely different. And I suddenly realized... his trauma was soothed. What hope have we, now, that our early childhood traumas can be soothed by a gentle hand, and years worth of building trust? 

Such hope I have, seeing Special the Pleco today, not afraid of my dad's hand, and even jesting with him in a sort of bottom feeder way. And I realized, our traumas can be soothed too, by a gentle hand, and a slow build up of trust. We can be just like him, and healed through kindness.

So therefore, be kind. As Paul said in his epistles, there is never a law against it. So you will heal others, too.

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