It happens this time of year. An inner craving awakes. Some primal longing draws me like a Siren’s song and helpless I am to resist the, Call of The Sea. If this yearning has something to do with the phases of the summer moon or some ancient memory of being pulled, grunion-like to spawn on the shore, I cannot fathom but I am suddenly enraptured with all things nautical. I covet a visit to an aquarium, to imagine plumbing watery depths, weightless while floating free. I could commune with a crab, visit octopus’ grotto, stand hypnotized by the sway of the seaweed, admire the beauty of jellyfish, and gaze in adoration at majestical sea horses. I find myself watching every program about the ocean I can find, documentaries on Animal Planet, CNN’s “Patagonia,� “SharkFest,� even stooping to an episode of, “Wicked Tuna.� I peruse octopus, whale and dolphin videos, stingray sagas, and even view an old journey aboard the Calypso with pioneer Jacques Cousteau, back when everyone smoked (I suspect the French still do). Although I wish to be immersed in the underwater world, a visit to the ocean’s edge is the best we do. Of course, Topanga Beach has its own ecosystem, the locals laying claim to the best parking area and the prime bench near the stairs. Fortunately, the Beleaguered Husband, being a regular in good standing, or just old, is awarded some respect and even honored by the boys with the offer of a cold beer. No wonder I married him. Sitting on the sand it is all out there in front of me. The vast ocean, appearing calm on the surface yet underneath teaming with life, in fact being the very cradle of life. But where did the oceans come from? Supposedly as a young earth cooled, surrounding gas changed to water, or water was already here in rocks or delivered to the planet via meteors, or a bit of all combined. In the great timeline of the earth, life is said to have “developed almost instantaneously.� The first known forms were microorganisms. They grew by photosensitizing, using the natural energy of solar power. If only life could have stayed so friendly. But no…and here’s where I must take issue with the whole wonderful and terrible design of our planet, of nature, and whatever or whoever, be it random accident or intelligence, God or Fool, or lightning bolt, as with Frankenstein’s monster, that created the spark of life on our planet. Here, I must question something that I have found to be a profound flaw in the whole kit and kaboodle. Yes, giving us the mosquito and rapper Pitbull are bad enough but why, oh, why did survival on this planet, our beautiful earth that produces sunsets, the song of the whale, and baby lambs, have to be based on the food chain of animals eating each other? With the new incredible Webb telescope capturing the stunning images of emerging and aged distant galaxies, revealing even more about the vastness of the universe, I want to shout out to some angelic architect, the big brain, cosmic vibration, or just a guy wearing a tee shirt that reads, ‘Don’t Blame Me, I Only Work Here’. “Hey, don’t do it this way!� my voice will rail. “If there’s going to be evolving life on your planets, give them a break! When you get ready for a birthday party to celebrate your newly developed life forms, don’t invite the carnivores.� Or better yet, warn those new and innocent evolving organisms against eating the fruit of The Tree of Knowledge. Eden was a paradise for all creatures, human, plant and animal. It was a peaceable kingdom where the lamb lies next to lion, no fear, no war, no missing socks, probably no sex either but come on, it was Paradise. All lost, traded away for free choice, a hamburger, and a return to the jungle on land and in the sea. Once I had a dream in which I died. The planet was hit by a meteor. The next thing I knew I was out of my body, hovering above the ground as were my friends and family. I thought, “Well this isn’t so bad. I can still see everyone.� But my vision dimmed, and there was a ringing in my ears. Then I felt an irresistible pull to surge upwards, but I was afraid to go, to leave what I knew. The summons to rise became ever stronger and I told myself not to fight it, to go with it, but I was still scared and clinging to the corporal world. “Just let go, just go with it,� I chanted. Then, I actually felt my spirit reenter my body and awoke, back in my bed. I was returned to this place and time. Perhaps not yet worthy to reenter Eden. And I knew two things. When your spirit leaves your body it is not easy to let go being earthbound, and you have to go alone. I also somehow gleaned that the less meat you eat, the lighter you will be to make the transition. Since then, in anticipation of departing this mortal coil, I have not eaten meat, except for a Little Smoky or two at Christmas. I’d like to report back to you regarding this theory and will if I can. Out there, across the universe, may there be one blessed planet that got it right, where the lamb lies down with the lion.