They don’t call them starfish anymore. They are sea stars now but whatever you call them there is hardly anyone who can see one without smiling and pointing.
Why do we love them so much? They are pretty and come in so many colors but it must be more than just a pretty face. Do they remind us of stars in the sky? — I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight? Can they make wishes come true?
Do they remind us of ourselves? Arms and legs and torso with a little head?
Most of them have five legs but some have more. And almost all of them can regenerate a leg if one is damaged. Maybe that’s it. Maybe it’s the idea that something shaped like us can replace a missing part.
And in truth, that’s what we do when we heal from pain, especially emotional pain, we slowly replace a missing piece of happiness. Just like the starfish.
Photo by guest blogger Sue Harrison, location Key Largo, Florida.