The creek floods. People’s anger builds. They curse God for the dam built from all those beautiful trees. Parts of the woods is flooded. The big pond now eromously deep and vast. People get angry.  They build walls up all the time to shut each other out.

But the beaver buillds no walls. The beaver meticulously designs a dam. A magnificent dam built from lumber throughout the woods. Piece by piece, the beaver drags these huge trees through the woods to the creek. Hard working and dedicated, the beaver gets no praise from humankind. The wildlife, they are wiser than those humans. They watch the beaver work. They follow the beaver to this wonderful creation. Not just the wonderful creation of the dam. The creation of a deeper and wider pond. A pond that can sustain trout and other fish. The bull frogs sing their praises. The deer come to wade in the shallow edges near the shore. Drinking that clean, beautiful refreshing water. The ducks and geese come too! They are now able to swim and dive down under the water. The wolves, the foxes and even the tricksters, the coyotes come to drink and play and snack. The snapping turtles, they arrive to. Everyone at the pond now. They are a community. They thank the beaver for the hard work done. The hard work that provides each one of them with something that they need to survive and to be successful.

The beaver built it strong.

People were angry and still carry that anger. They come in with their traps and guns. The other animals flee for safety. Somewhere safe. .. Safer than where their home is or was. The community builder is gone. The community center destroyed.

People got angry. The creek begins to flow. Flow or rather trickle like it used to. Shallow are the waters in the middle of the shrinking pond. No more diving, too shallow now. The bullfrogs still sing but not joyful hymns of praise. People got angry. Got out their weapons. Destroying one community to benefit the other. People got angry, even greedy. No more wild blueberries to pick and eat. The water now muddy so filthy it smells like sewage. People get angrier. We don’t want this damn wasteland either.

When the Community Builder is destroyed, so is the community.

Be a Beaver and Build a strong community where everyone and everything living is welcome at the pond

or  like in the catholic teaching:

everyone is welcome at the table.

Copyright : Theresa Dolata