Last weekend, I went with a pal up to Pemberton for a
weekend long knitting retreat. Friends and family looked at me skeptically when
I told them of my plans: “A what? Knitting? Retreat?” Like they had misheard.

I was chatting with pals yesterday about our global failure to achieve sustainability.  And how it feels like, in so many ways, we cannot get past the individual aspirations and goals to have and accumulate and “prosper.”  We talked about what it would take to move

The Starfish Rescuers

adapted from The Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley (1907-1977)

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."

So, I read my cyber-friend's change about creating a community of Urban Knitters, and while I am not a great or very committed knitter, I have spent time on road trips and camping adventures engaged in Wilderness Knitting. I agree: knitting should be performed in public. It reclaims a dying art and demonstrates how a form of art and craft is also a completely practical use of time and resources and something that can be done while also (1) conversing; (2) planning for change; (3) developing campaigns; and (4) building community, among other things. To steal from Wendell Berry, let us go down to the peace of Wild Knitters....