fish

Over the Hill on the Yellow Brick Road, I took a walk on a beach and noticed a sandcastle. I plopped down beside it and started a conversation.

Hey Sandcastle—

SANDCASTLE: Stop right there. Don’t talk to me.

Why not?

SANDCASTLE: You won’t want to hear what I have to say.

Because?

SANDCASTLE: I’m obsessed with death. Every time I hear a wave coming toward me, I panic. I’m always worried about when I won’t exist anymore.

Me too.

SANDCASTLE: Really?

Yes. Especially as I grow older. I try not to let my fear rise to the surface at all times, but underneath I’m always afraid.

SANDCASTLE: I have two levels of anxiety. If I hear a smaller wave rolling in, I don’t worry as much because it’s not as likely to reach me. But if the wave sounds large and roars in my direction, I have a full blown panic attack. Know what I mean?

Definitely. I worry I’ll come down with a sudden illness and my body won’t be able to fight it off. Like, right now there’s a flu epidemic in my area, so I stay at home, hide under the covers and watch the Food Network. It relaxes me. I isolate myself because I’m afraid I’ll get sick and won’t be able to get through it.

SANDCASTLE: I isolate myself, too. I won’t take on any tenants. Like snails. I turn them away. I’m not sure how long I’ll be here. At any moment, I might be gone.

Actually, you wouldn’t exactly be “gone.”

SANDCASTLE: What? Why not?

Well, before you were a sandcastle you were zillions of grains of sand on the beach. That’s how you started.

SANDCASTLE: How do you know?

Trust me on this one. Anyway, eventually somebody came along and molded you into a different form—a sandcastle.

SANDCASTLE: Your point being?

When a wave eventually washes over you—

SANDCASTLE: Don’t say that!!!!

Hear me out. When a wave eventually washes over you, you’ll go back to the form you were before—grains of sand on the beach. You’ll be back where you started, but you won’t be “gone.”

SANDCASTLE: This is blowing my mind.

Maybe the wave will even wash you into the ocean, so you’ll be part of the amazing community under the sea.

SANDCASTLE: You know… I didn’t think it was possible…but you just made me feel better. No more Prozac for me.

Good to know. It just seems there are so many answers to questions about life and our existence in nature. The answers are all around us. We just have to look for them.

SANDCASTLE: I wish I had something useful to add.

No worries.

SANDCASTLE: Wait! I just thought of something. If what you say about nature is true, maybe what goes for me can go for you. I mean, if I started in one form, morphed into another, and will go back to my original form one day…maybe the same will happen to you.

Maybe….

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On a hot day Over the Hill on the Yellow Brick Road, I decided to go for a swim in the ocean. Suddenly, a shark swam over! Aaaah!!!!!

shark

Shark! Don’t eat me! I’m older! But I’m too young to die!

SHARK: Calm down. I have no intention of eating you.

I thought sharks ate people.

SHARK: If you confuse us, we’ll take a nibble. Otherwise, we prefer other delicacies. Just don’t confuse me.

I won’t confuse you.

SHARK: But I should tell you, I do have one other eating related issue. Many years ago, I ate another shark. I mean, some sharks do eat other sharks, but that doesn’t make it right. I feel bad knowing I have a shark inside me. I still have nightmares about it.

If it makes you feel better, I have a shark inside me, too.

SHARK: Should I be swimming away from you?

No. Not that kind of shark. It’s a metaphor for a really aggressive side of myself. But it’s strange. I’ve noticed as I grow older, I don’t feel the shark inside me as much as I used to. I don’t know what’s happening to me. Am I settling for less? Am I depressed?

SHARK: I’m not sure I understand what you mean.

Well, when I was younger, if there was a job opportunity I was passionate about, or I had a creative goal that meant the world to me, I felt a “shark” inside me that drove me toward what I wanted with incredible force.

SHARK: Ooooh.

And when that “shark” inside me took over, I didn’t hurt anyone physically, but I might have hurt others emotionally along the way without realizing it. I was so focused on what I was going for, I’m not sure I was completely aware of my behavior.

SHARK: Ugh. What about now?

Now I feel more like a tuna fish. When I’m passionate about something I want to do, I meander steadily toward it, but I look from side to side and take in what’s around me. If something doesn’t feel quite right or off balance, I stop, think about it, and make changes till I’m in sync with the universe.

SHARK: If you don’t mind that I’m adding my two cents, it sounds like what you’re doing now might make you feel more grounded. And when you get where you’re going, you’ll arrive with perspective and wisdom.

Is it possible this is actually a good thing about growing older?

SHARK: Who knew?

Oh wow! Thank you so much for your help!

SHARK: Hold it! What about me? I still feel bad about eating that shark years ago. Any words of wisdom to help me through it?

Well…on one hand, I guess you shouldn’t have done that. On the other hand, lots of sharks have eaten other sharks, so it probably felt like a natural thing to do. On the other hand, at that time, there were probably other things to eat in the ocean, so choosing that shark was a bad idea. On the other hand, sometimes we have to learn from our mistakes. On the other hand–

SHARK: Aaaah! You’re confusing me! I told you not to confuse me!

I’m outa here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Do you have a shark? How’s it doing?