An Estuary Worth Cultivating
This year my daughter (and I, as her home school teacher) have been studying geography which has opened our eyes to a variety of geographical terms which are new to us both! It has been great fun to learn so much more about the variety of natural features that exist on our planet. One that I have found particularly fascinating are estuaries. Geographically speaking, there are over 1,200 places on the earth where estuaries exist and the incredible mixing of salt and fresh water occurs. The brackish combination is home to a wide variety of creatures, both flora and fauna, and is often created by the combination of freshwater rivers and saltwater oceans or seas flowing one into the other. Known by different names, these harbors, lagoons, fjords, or sounds are unique in the fact that they are ever changing depending on the tides, weather patterns, and movement of waters via boats and sea life.
What’s amazing about these unique environments is that the mixing of seawater and freshwater provides high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world. Estuaries also block the heavier flow of tidal waves making them a safe space for a variety of animals, such as small fish, shellfish, migrating birds and shore animals to thrive. In the U.S. alone we have more than a 100 estuaries including the largest one formed by the briny water of the Atlantic mixing with the milky blue waters of Lawrence River. As a Marylander I am certainly thankful for the beauty and bounty (think Maryland Blue crabs :) of the Chesapeake Bay ~a well-known, local estuary.
As you can imagine many early civilizations have made their homes near estuaries where they have both access to the clean, fresh water of the river for drinking and hygiene, and equal access to the ocean ways where ships can move freely for the development of trade and communication. Additionally, these harbors are often rich in nutrient-dense foods while being stunningly beautiful! In all ways this divine combination of salty and fresh waters provide an ideal location for life and beauty to flourish.
Studying these incredible habitats led me to think more deeply about what other conditions create abundant life? Are there other combinations that create the perfect habitat that allows for humans to not only survive, but to prosper? As one who seeks to grow in healthy ways, I am always on the lookout for the ‘perfect blend.’ What characteristics, lessons, attributes are most important to cultivate? What do I most need to teach my children before they leave home? What personal qualities must I model (and first possess!) which will bless those around me? All good questions, right?
“I can honestly say that my quest, though likely not exhaustive or complete, has consistently always led me back to these two virtues or pillars, if you will: Curiosity and Compassion.”
Curiosity, much like the oceanic side of the estuary forms the salty, grittiness that preserves life through its resolve to move steadily and powerfully. Like salt water, it acts as a detergent to any object which dare fall into its field. Like saline, which can both agitate and soothe, inquisitiveness reminds us that without it the greatest minds would have stagnantly lost aim. The quest to know more, to dig deeper, to probe into the unknown is what has led to our most prized discoveries. Albert Einstein even asserted that he was neither particularly talented nor clever but rather “passionately curious.” How many prospects have been made and treasures secured by simply asking and answering the question, “How does this work?”
Curiosity, both expansive and somewhat unyielding, has its ‘yin-like’ counterpart of Compassion, which deeply holds together the fibers of humanity. Compassion refreshes and washes away the stench of our dirtiness. It weeps with those who weep and laughs with those who laugh. Compassion grounds us in our connection to one another and much like those early settlers, who knew they needed to live close to the source of fresh water, we too know that compassion will purify our hearts, cleanse our spirit, and restore our souls. In his book Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life, Henri J.M. Nouwen writes,“The great mystery is not the cures, but the infinite compassion which is their source.” Though maintaining compassion at all times is arguably unattainable, we might all agree that being treated with compassion at all times is desirable, even heavenly. In this way we see the blessing of compassion and the promise it offers to be of immense value to each of us.
“While Compassion asks us to be vulnerable, to suffer, to experience our own pain and that of others, Curiosity leads us to dream big, to push farther than we thought possible, to reach out beyond what is comfortable.”
Put together these virtues create a beautiful safe harbor where life thrives both in its extension toward the unknown, exciting, and not-yet-grasped possibilities and its deep rootedness of meeting ourselves and others in the rich and real experiences of life, both painful and exhilarating. If we all would work to create an estuary of compassion and curiosity in ourselves I dare say we may have found a calling worthy of cultivation.
