Evolving Beings^TM

Sharing Wisdom and Enlightenment to Awaken The Highest Version of Who You Are!

Earth Day Aftermath - The Starfish Inspiration

Published

on Apr 23, 2008

in Environment, General, Inspiration, Self Growth

.

Yesterday was Earth Day as most of us know and in today’s times that is a day I feel we should all take to heart very seriously!

Why? Well some of us may still wonder that, but you would literally have to live under a rock, or be completely ignorant not to realize the fragile state our Earth is in. Now here is the biologist in me speaking when I say, that all the hype about pollution, global warming, the ozone layer, natural disasters and species extinction is NOT exaggerated!

So the day is done…did you notice it? Did you do something special for it? Or did it pass just like any other day? And how about today - if you did think about it yesterday, did you give it another thought today?

The reason I ask these questions is because too often, special days, occasions, meaningful dates get focus only on that one day, and that’s it! They vanish from our minds and our actions! Take Christmas for example. Aside from all the shopping and excessive preparation we do for that “one day”. The idea normally is that on Christmas or around Christmas we should be and most are nicer, more generous, more charitable, etc. But what about the rest of the year? That is what I am trying to get at. We treat each other “nicer” at Christmas and then what, forget to be nice and charitable, etc. for the rest of the year?

So the same idea goes for when I talk about Earth Day. It is wonderful if you did something “green” yesterday. However, just like with Christmas, we were not meant to be nice one day of the year and likewise we are not meant to be “green” only one day of the year. Our Earth is just too fragile today to forget about it all the other 364 days!

Do not get me wrong - I am all for Earth Day. However, I feel that Earth Day should not be used as one day to think about or do something green, instead it should be used to motivate and inspire us to focus on the Earth and green living everyday! And if that is what it does do for you - then wonderful!

As an Evolving Being, I believe that we have to seek awareness and growth in all areas and that includes how we treat and take care of our planet. Having mastered yourself, you life or your spirituality does not mean forgetting about your physical aspect. You are a physical being at this time here right now, living in a physical realm on this beautiful planet. And just like you would not “mess up” the house you inhabit, you would not or should not “mess up” the planet you inhabit. Just as you take care of your “home” because you live in it, one would hope that you would take care of your greater home - this planet that you live on.

Sounds simple right? Then why isn’t everybody doing it? …too hard…too much of a chore….not worth it….won’t make a big enough difference…. and the excuses go on! But awakening and living out the highest version of yourself cannot be done at one level and not another. To experience the best of yourself, you have to be in complete balance with your mind, body and soul - and yes, your environment too!

So to conclude, Earth Day is over, but may the message and call it brings awaken within us a greater ambition to become part of the solution not continue being part of the problem. May we be moved to heal our Earth and know that every single one person and every single act, can and does make a difference. And may the urgency with which we should act, last every day of our life, not just one day, for as long as we inhabit this planet.

To close, I have a poem that was given to me many years ago called “The Starfish”. I believe the author is anonymous. It has become my most treasured poem when it comes to viewing, understanding and acting towards our planet, as it truly defined for me what the actions of just one person can do.

The Starfish

The old man awoke just before sunrise, as he often did, to walk by the ocean’s edge and greet the new day. As he moved through the morning dawn, he focused on a faint, far away motion. He saw a youth, bending and reaching and flailing arms, dancing on the beach, no doubt in celebration of the perfect day soon to begin. As he approached, he realized that the youth was not dancing to the bay, but rather bending to sift through the debris left by the night’s tide, stopping now and then to pick up starfish and then standing, to heave it back into the sea.

He asked the youth the purpose of the effort. “The tide has washed the starfish onto the beach and they cannot return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun rises, they will die, unless I throw them back into the sea.”

As the youth explained, the old man surveyed the vast expanse of beach, stretching in both directions beyond eyesight. Starfish littered the shore in numbers beyond calculation. The hopelessness of the youth’s plan became clear and the old man countered, “But there are more starfish on this beach than you can ever save before the sun is up. Surely you cannot expect to make a difference.”

The youth paused briefly to consider those words, bent to pick up a starfish and threw it as far as possible. Turning to the man, he said,

“I made a difference to that one.”

Bookmark, Share, or Email this page:

Close Bookmark and Share This Page

Save to Browser Favorites / Bookmarks