Lenten Season Aquarium Contemplation

(Picture taken of Cownose Ray in the Carribean Tunnel Exhibit at the New Orleans Aquarium. Stingrays, unlike their name, are non-aggressive to humans and, when domesticated, begin to act affectionate as if they were puppies. Working with them has taught me a lot about how seemingly dangerous animals are really just as sweet as the cute, fluffy ones.)

As I am curious about Jesuit ideals, I have been participating in an Ignatian Lenten Retreat in which I pray with scripture 20 minutes a day and conduct a daily examen.





One of the places I have sat down to pray is the Aquarium Gulf Exhibit. This is a large room with the largest tank in the New Orleans Aquarium, containing a 50 year old green sea turtle, a sandtiger shark, many nurse sharks and sandbar sharks, tarpon (big, shiny fish) and a whole lot more. There's a set of raised benches for observation set up, so I sat down. Once I opened the retreat packet, I started writing and reflecting on "finding God in all things," (Ignatius) keeping in mind how to "pledge allegiance to all," including things like the soil that we often leave out (Snyder).





I started to write about William Blake's "Tyger, Tyger." Obviously, the poem questions how the same God can create both a meek lamb and a strong tiger. Yet, I started thinking about the sandtiger shark. This shark constantly has his mouth open, baring his rows of teeth and giving him an uneasy appearance. Yet, he's actually the most docile shark in the tank because he can only eat small fish due to his jaw structure. If anything, people are afraid of the potential, not the nature, of a shark, as most sharks are not particularly aggressive. Lambs have the appearance of being meek and innocent, yet they have the potential to be destructive, too. They can overgraze fields and destroy ecosystems; lambs just don't have the appearance of dangerous potential. Sharks and tigers are not malicious creatures and they never kill for sport or out of their natural habitat. In fact, most sharks only eat fish who are dying or sick to keep the ecosystem healthy and never attack a healthy fish. Perhaps it is more appropriate for us to understand an animal's potential. Both a tiger and a lamb have the potential for fearful symmetry in different ways; it's how a creature deals with their own potential that makes it a beast.