Please make the voyage upstream

To the editor:

One time, a very long time ago, there was a beautiful stream that flowed freely. 

The water was crystal clear, and people enjoyed finding beautiful rocks and watching numerous fish flow down the stream every day. They would wade across the stream to pick wildflowers and many different types of berries to make pies and breads. 

Deer, squirrels and many other types of wildlife would come and drink from this stream daily. 

Children would wade in this stream; people would gather their water in buckets from this crystal-clear stream. 

This stream ended up flowing into a pond that was simply amazing and people came from miles around to enjoy this pond. They had picnics beside it. Families would come specifically to this pond to have their portraits taken, friends would meet up and go swimming. People would come and catch fish for their supper that very same night.  

Beside this pond there was the most gorgeous tree imaginable. Children would climb the tree, friends would play hide and seek behind the tree, people would lay out a blanket under the tree and read a book until their heart was content, others would take a nap in the shade of the tree. Life was like a little piece of heaven on earth for all who visited. 

One day, the pond had many dead fish in it. All the people gathered around it and simply couldn’t believe their eyes, they just didn’t understand why all the fish had died. 

The bigger the crowd got; the more rumors flew about why the fish had died. Of course, no one knew the real reason. 

Finally, a few people in the crowd said, “Instead of standing here wondering how this could have happened, let’s go upstream and see if we can figure out the real reason.” 

So, they started upstream. They went slowly so they could see everything in sight. It was not an easy task, and it took them a long time. 

However, the further upstream they went, the more they learned along the way. These few people gained knowledge and learned how to prepare themselves to be the change to make the environment, the stream and the pond become beautiful again. 

This story holds truth to so much going on in our world today. There are so many changes that can be made to make life worth living, not just surviving — people truly caring for other people, and wonderful places to make yourself and others feel better.  

You don’t have to travel far away to make the changes needed. Start in your own backyard, give a stranger a smile, stop and say hi to your neighbor, pick up that piece of trash that you see on the sidewalk, ask what your community needs and then become a pivotal part of those needs. 

The more you learn, the more you understand; the more you understand, the more you help; the more you help, the more you will come to love yourself, your family, your friends and your community.

Please follow us upstream.

Stephanie Patterson

Jay County Drug Prevention Coalition