Bug

This is a mantra. You can spend your life contemplating the past and future or you can live in the present. Trey has spent time in the present, touched this place of awareness, if only for those precious moments of a show when the band goes somewhere that it has never been and will never go again. In that moment not only does he feel it, we do too! If you want to get there again, throw on a live show recording or meditate to the mantra, start to compare yourself to a "bug", so small and insignificant in the universe and before you start thinking too hard about all the implications, don’t, "it doesn’t mater" (over time, you eliminate thinking about the bug, just like the song does, you don’t need it to get there). The rest of the song is tantamount to the “mental chatter” of someone who is locked into contemplating things that have nothing to do with now. I am happy if Phish reunites, I am happy if they don’t, I no longer need their "bug", I understand that it doesn’t mater. Steve

I agree with @phishheretic, while the song can certainly share the message of living in the moment, i think the core of the message is not to waste your life seeking bliss. You can spend your whole life constantly becoming and never take time just to be content with where you are.

BUG, IT DOESNT MATTER

~exactly~

Well said zanderk. It doesn't matter

GREAT SONG .

i think its got something to do with the material possesions of this world. because, when you die, well, it just doesnt matter. all that matters is what you instill in other people who are alive after you.

"The distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." Albert Einstein.

Only the present exists, bug, it doesn't matter.

too sum up what NotTakenID said, just live in the moment!

granted, this is my subjective interpretation:

Trey did a little TOO much living in the moment, this song was his way of communicating his struggle with heroin addiction. For example:

gold in my hand....in a [country] pool - appearance of melted heroin don't need it, don't feed it, my thoughts faded, OVERRATED

Many people use psychedelics in a cycle to try to break addictions from opiates - (I) knew long ago that Trey was having a problem with this very issue because it was obvious to anyone with experience of these drugs. FYI i am sure it was the reason for BOTH hiatuses. This song always felt like that cry of him trying to tell himself to let go and stop trying to control everything, in other words, this song is about:

SURRENDER

I agree with @phishheretic, while the song can certainly share the message of living in the moment, i think the core of the message is not to waste your life seeking bliss. You can spend your whole life constantly becoming and never take time just to be content with where you are.