As I looked out my window this morning, I watched as a heron tried to have breakfast at my Koi pond. I think that he got a few, but I scared him off before he did too much damage.
We have a relationship, this heron and I.
My ponds and my fish represent an easy meal for him, even though there are many places close by where he could eat unmolested. For him, the fish represent his way of making a living for his family.
For me, I raise the fish and sell them, so they represent – for me – one way that I make my living for my family as well. A single fish can represent a value of $100 or more for me, and a hungry heron can easily devour several of them at a meal.
So we are at a loggerheads, the heron and I. I look for ways to stock the pond close to me with fish that he can eat for free, and ways to deter him from my ponds. But my fish will always represent the easy meal for him.
This little relationship is a microcosm of geopolitical politics, isn’t it? We are all after the same thing – a way to make our living in this life – and way too often my way of making my living will keep you from making the living that you want.
What shall I do, then? When does it become OK to simply shoot the heron so that I can have all the fish that I want? By law, I could never do that, but figuratively speaking, where is that point? If I put a little effort into the problem, can I find a solution that makes us all a little more rich, and the heron can live?
