Recently, I took a little stroll on the beach and pier at the Myrtle Beach State Park. I was having a little quiet time after a frenzied trip to The Big Apple. Just my camera, the ocean and all the beautiful creatures living there. I love to watch and capture the antics of birds. I watched one for some amount of time thinking his bouncing around was rather funny. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that his feet and a portion of his wing were tangled in fishing line. I followed him a bit to determine the best way to remove the line as it was wrapped very tightly. I had absolutely nothing in my possession to remove the line provided I could catch the little creature. I approached two men fishing and asked if they perhaps had something to remove the line with...one just looked at me and said, "You'll never catch him, it will cut off the circulation and it will loose the leg and then he promptly went back to fishing. I asked, are you sure..."YEP". I became rather distraught to no avail, followed the bird a bit and yes, he was fast. I finally had to leave the pier. I felt so sad and helpless to do anything. The little bird has been on my mind and refuses to leave. Along with the bird, I am reminded of an article I recently read in "The Elephant Journal" The gist of it is as follows:
A building is on fire, which one of the following do you do...
A) You are so wrapped up in your own business you do not even notice there is a fire.
B) You notice the fire, and call for help allowing someone else to deal with it.
C) You physically assist and do all you can to help.
D) You set the fire or add fuel to the fire or fan the flames of an already blazing fire.
Given the current state of affairs in our own neighborhoods, country and around the world you can probably see where I am going with this. Should I have tried harder to get help from the fishermen or at the very least persuaded them to allow me the use of their tools. Sure, it is one little bird, however isn't all life valuable. I am dismayed by the amount of disregard for life all around me. I am appalled by the sheer numbers of abortions (I am not proposing the right/wrong of it here) Unborn children are disposed of as if yesterday's garbage. Homeless people are treated worse than the dogs roaming loose on the streets, at least the dogs stand a better chance of being rescued. There are so many examples of hatefulness. It is not my intent to focus on each issue but to focus instead on what type of people we are or we are becoming. Who do you want to be a, b, c or d? We fight among ourselves to be "right" bashing each other because we are Christian or not, liberal or not and so on and on. This solves nothing, it only adds fuel or fans the flames.
I want to be the person who is aware and offers what I can to alleviate problems rather than fan the flames. Who do you want to be? We are the authors of our own stories. Everyone has a story and we do not know all the intimate details of each person's path. Let us each be like the one we most admire, the one feeding the poor, washing their feet and giving them comfort.
If all you can manage is a smile, then do it. You will never know what it means to someone struggling. We all want to be acknowledged and to know we matter. My challenge to myself and to you, is this, step up! Kind is always good. I wish you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Winter Solstice! Whatever your path, I wish you well. Peace and Love Y'all!
