You go down the beach and find the perfect sand. Not too wet, not too dry. This is building sand. As you pack it together, a marvelous structure begins to take shape. This is your creation. This is your sandcastle.

When you are putting the finishing touches on this castle, you notice the ocean. The water rises onto the beach, and retracts back into the ocean at large. It is beginning to come lethally close to your beautiful sandcastle. You know it is futile. Yet, you build walls to stave off the attack of the water. The ocean is relentless. You dig moats. The ocean rises. The walls crumble; the moats fill. The landscape becomes smooth, slick sand, with no defects. Eventually, the water overtakes the sandcastle. It becomes a gross lump. A little bit later, and it’s as if your sandcastle was never there.

All of humanity’s creations are but sandcastles on the beach. Mere sandcastles compared to the awesome fury of Mother Nature. I still think of the devastation that was caused in New Orleans last year. We wonder if we should rebuild. We also wonder how we can save Venice, which is sinking.

No matter how strong we build our levees, the mighty hand of God will always humble us. New Orleans, Venice — they are but sandcastles on the beach. As the Earth heats up (whether or not you believe humans had a hand in this heating up makes no difference), the ice caps will melt and sea levels will rise. New Orleans will be completely underwater.

In Santa Barbara, my friend was telling me how one beach was eroding away. They bring in sand to keep the beach from disappearing. This is but another example of a sandcastle on the beach.

All I can think of when I hear of things like this is a child futilely attempting to save a sandcastle on the beach. That’s not to say we shouldn’t build sandcastles. Or attempt to save them. I know I have done this many times. However, humanity should not delude itself into thinking every structure can be saved. A sandcastle is what it is because it will eventually be wiped away. That’s just part of building a sandcastle.

Do I have a point with all this? A policy suggestion? No. It’s just an interesting perspective to ponder. Perhaps I should’ve written a poem.