SPOOR OF THE STARFISH

As a little child, I moved with my family to the coast of New Jersey. I’m retired now, a landlubber, but that early love of the sea has stayed with me. So, I start this blog as a means to reflect on life, the world, nature – anything that catches my fancy. And I suspect my thoughts will leave a trail somewhat resembling the spoor of a starfish.

The starfish has five rays – or arms or legs, if you will – or it may have four or six or nine, or even twenty-some, but mostly, five. Each ray has not one, but hundreds of tiny tube feet. So the trail left by a meandering starfish is a delicate path of tiny squiggles. Wind and waves easily erase the trail of a starfish, and nothing remains to mark its passing.

So it is for most of us humans, that the progress along our paths through life doesn’t leave much of an indelible impression. Nonetheless, the world is – or can be – a richer, finer place because of our being here. We don’t have to find a medical cure, or conquer poverty, or do something earth-shaking. We only need to give off the light and warmth of our love, wherever we are, however long that might be. Even the tiniest little bit of love’s light and warmth is enough to make the world a friendlier place.

Like the starfish, we don’t leave such a remarkable trail, but we don’t have to. Delight isn’t in the spoor; it’s in the starfish.