Friday, April 17, 2009
A Brilliant, if Metaphorical Take on The Mess We're In
A day at the beach
Imagine several families traveling together have stumbled upon the beach for the very first time.
When I say first time, I mean these folks have never seen the ocean before. They didn’t even know it existed and aren’t really even sure what it is. But hey, it’s a beautiful day. The sun is high. The water is warm. The waves are crashing and the people begin splashing, laughing and playing in the great, big, blue wonder they’ve discovered. They are happier than they can remember ever being, until one of children notices something is changing. The water is shrinking. The waves are moving further away and the barren sandy earth they unveil is growing. The child alerts the others. The laughing and playing come to a stop.
At first, they just watch. With sticks they mark where water reaches and soon they realize the child is right. The ocean is leaving. They’re unsure what to do. They have no idea what’s happening and begin to panic. Many fear they’ve done something to anger the big blue water. They offer sacrifices. They chant and cry and tremble. Some begin finger pointing and fights break out. Some run away while others try digging holes in the sand to save the water. All the while the water keeps receding. The ocean steadily gives way to sand and rock. Fear and anger give way to despair and hopelessness. As the sun sets, all hope is gone that the waves of joy and laughter will ever return. The remaining family members gather together. And with heavy hearts, turn and leave the beach.
Not far away, high up on a cliff sits a boy who has been watching over the beach. Here at the edge of the earth is his home. He knows the ways of the ocean. He’s puzzled by what he’s seen happen on the beach. Why did those people get so sad and angry? Why did they leave? Don’t they know that when the ocean unveils the sand you can find all sorts of new things? Don’t they know that when the ocean brings the deeper water closer the fishing is better and the prize can be bigger? Don’t they know that when the ocean reveals the jagged rocks there are hidden delicacies to gather? Don’t they know that that water comes back? He pauses for a moment, then shrugs his shoulders and quickly climbs down the cliff from which he’s spotted big fish in the surf. He picks up his spear and heads out into the big blue water, fully expecting to bring home the catch of a lifetime.
