There is a proverb, from the Buddhist tradition I think, that says, "You can never step into the same river twice." It is ultimately a commentary on the human condition--how are lives are constantly changing. How the context of our lives is constantly changing. Yet, like many analogies, it can also be understood literally. Literal rivers are always changing, and the water you step into today will not be the same tomorrow. I was reminded of all this while reading a page one article in yesterday's local Sunday paper The News Press. (Being a bit of a news junkie I always read two Sunday papers, the other being the New York Times.) The article, titled "Troubled Waters," described some of the problems being faced by those attempting to keep the Caloosahatchee River alive and well.

The Caloosahatchee runs east to west 75 miles from Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf of Mexico. Over the years the Caloosahatchee has been dammed and straightened and dredged and manipulated over and over again. As reported Amy Beth Williams notes: "[T]he Caloosahatchee as we know it was never meant to be, at least geologically." (The News-Press, 9-12-10, A-8)

I don't live on the river, though I cross it with some frequency, and even stand on its banks once in a while. And so I don't think about it. And I've never even seen Lake Okeechobee. What do they say, out of sight, out of mind? But the truth of the matter is, both of them impact my life. What impacts Lake Okeechobee impacts the Calossahatchee and ulitmatley impacts Sanibel. When pollutants are dumped into the river, when the confluence of salt and fresh water is tampered with by dams and the like, when runoff pours into the lake, ultimately, Sanibel pays.

Its a lesson--an environmental lesson in miniature. Its a reminder that whatever I do, has consequences that reach far beyond the shores of our little island. For good or for ill.

Its true, literally and figuratively, you can never step in the same river twice. But unless we take some responsibility for the Calooshatchees of the world, or at least those in our own backyards, there may not be any rivers to step into at all.

For more information about the Caloosahatchee, check out the ongoing coverage of the issue at www.news-press.com/river. To get involved in helping preserve the Caloosahatchee, contact the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation at river@sccf.org

(Photo Credit: B. K. Bennett, http://flic.kr/p/6djQs1 )