Lessons from a Barnacle

A few weeks ago I went to Saltspring Island with some girlfriends. We were geocaching on a wonderful rocky beach and reveling in our freedom. Yes, it was only for a couple of days, but for those few days we are just young girls again, no worrying about children or what to make for supper, no laundry and no schedules. And what I love the most... complete freedom to explore.

We were doing just that, exploring this beach (which was called Octopus Beach), when Joan turned to me and said, "I'm so glad I'm not a barnacle!" I laughed and then thought, "That is so going to be the title of my next blog!"

We talked about spending your entire life glued to a rock or a ship. Never having the freedom to explore, have fun and see the world. Nothing sounds more depressing or boring or stupid as far as I'm concerned.

And then I Googled 'facts about barnacles.' Hmmmm....

Turns out barnacles don't spend their entire lives glued to something. They spend most of their adolescent lives swimming about, complete freedom to go and do whatever they want. Then, when they become adults they choose to attach themselves somewhere using one of the most powerful adhesives known in the world. They don't worry about the necessities of life, they trust that it will come to them and they wait patiently for it. I thought about this for a while and how I spend my days floating about, here and there, running around, trying to keep up and worrying about tomorrow, when I should be attaching myself to a Solid Rock.

Doesn't sound so stupid after all.