Pseudo-Copulating Starfish

and other more beneficial things to pay attention to

Today my daughter and I go to the far end of the island.

She asks me to leave my phone in the truck, so I do.

She also asks me to only bring a watermelon, and nothing else.

She is as wise as an old owl.

The tide is low so we walk a long way before actually touching the waters edge.

But along the way we pass entire galaxies of life.

The way a child sees the world is a sort of enlightened state.

“Look inside this little pool daddy! The whole world is in there!”

She is right. The whole world is in there.

Time turns elastic whenever I’m with my daughter.

And when I leave my phone at bay, miracles unfold.

My daughter points out how a giant monster truck obviously drove over the ocean floor the previous night, which clearly explains why the sand was so ribbed. She then tells me to lie down completely on the sand so that the millions of tiny crabs parading about under our feet could carry me to the sea, which they eventually do indeed do.

When we are at home it’s near impossible to get my sweet little gumdrop to focus on anything for more than 2 seconds without being distracted by something else but while in the arms of Mother Nature she can remain entranced for hours on end. A tiny crab has an entire world to share. Were we to slow down and pay attention to infinity a bit more, to know what all the little ones know before we “educate” them, we too might learn that we aren’t the center of the cosmos, but just as important as a seed.

For exactly 42 minutes we follow a starfish. The curious echinoderm slowly slides along the ocean floor with her translucent tube feet until all of a sudden she finds a friend, another brilliant sea star! My daughter immediately recognizes it as love at first sight and soon I too am convinced. We sing aloud with the various birds flying overhead of the glorious affair unfolded before our very eyes but once another five armed passerby joins in on the fun I find it more challenging to narrate.

Later on, after returning home, I do a bit of research of my own and find out that indeed, starfish are polygamous. What’s more is they also proliferate asexually, meaning, they make copies of themselves! There are over 2,000 known species of sea stars and their world is functioning perfectly fine without any of us. Entire parallel universes existing right beneath our feet. Worlds among worlds among worlds…

My daughter enters the room and asks,

“Do you still have that watermelon?!”

…

Question: When is the last time you truly stopped and took the time to deeply observe a creature of the more-than-human realms? Share of your grand adventure with us here!

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***this little mini-post was a freely offered glimpse of the new daily offerings being sent out each day (except Sundays) to paid subscribers; personal, intimate windows into our curious world here at the crossroads of modernity and something a bit more ancestrally familiar. Each mini-post ends with a question, aspiring to prompt creative communal dialogue.

This new addition to Hiræth: Post-Activism in the Anthropocene was inspired by a call out from a friend of mine for financial assistance. She is from Myanmar and her country is going through a terrible war. Her family was receiving some assistance until Trumps team opted to end USAID. And yesterday a major earthquake ravaged their land. We can help. All profits beyond the basic upkeep of this substacky thing will go to help communities in Myanmar directly. Please, if you can afford even just $5 a month, consider becoming a paying subscriber. Your dollar is a vote for a kinder world. And don’t worry, my usual longer form articles will still roll out randomly and be offered freely to all. Thank you. All blessings. #maypeaceprevailonearth

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