Divine Diversity

 

Behold the Jellyfish

“A jellyfish, if you watch it long enough, begins to look like a beating heart. It doesn’t matter what kind: the blooded Atolla with its flashing siren lights, the frilly flower hat variety, or the near transparent moon jelly, Aurelia Aurita. It’s their pulse, the way they contract swiftly, then release. Like a ghost heart—a heart you can see right through, right into some other world where everything you ever lost has gone to hide. Jellyfish don’t have hearts, of course—no heart, no brain, no bone, no blood. But watch them for a while. You will see them beating.”
Ali Benjamin (“The Thing About Jellyfish”)

          There were lots of jellyfish on the beach at Emerald Isle. They were transparent and had no tentacles. Jellyfish are among the most peculiar creatures to me. Did you know that they are 95% water and that they range in size from small polyps of less than an inch to larger than a blue whale? Some have a lethal sting, and some have no sting at all. We humans tend to think of them as a total nuisance; when they are in the water where we want to swim, we complain. That’s kind of like an uninvited guest coming into your home and complaining about the accommodations.

          Jellyfish are also one of the reminders of what a diverse biosphere we inhabit. There is nothing that would indicate they are living creatures—no brain, heart, eyes, bones, blood—but they are very efficient in capturing and devouring other fish. Sometimes, like us, they travel in groups and the pulses and blinking luminescent lights synchronize—almost like a choreographed swim routine. Some believe jellyfish, like ants, have hive mind, but since they have no brain, we really don’t know. They are one of the many mysteries of planet Earth.

           I confess that I don’t like to see jellies in the water either, but since reading about them, I respect their uniqueness. I find them interesting and valuable. They are one more reason, at least for me, that this planet is a marvel, an absolute miracle of creation. The diversity of life here is proof positive of the divinity of creation. It’s almost like the gods had a competition to see which one could come up with the most unusual creature—from the jellyfish to the Komodo dragon to the giraffe—they just kept creating until we ended up standing on two legs, with no fur, and hands that sport opposable thumbs. Such magnificent creative genius! And our hearts! Well, they beat just like jellyfish.

                                                  In the Spirit,

                                                  Jane