I was out for a lovely morning walk with a friend when I saw a worm writhing on the sidewalk. Without thinking, I picked the worm up and put him in the damp grass.

My friend started laughing. He thought it was ridiculous that I would save a worm. 

I defended myself by saying:

• Worms are good for the soil
• Why should it die if it didn’t need to?
• Maybe I was in the right place at the right time because I was meant to rescue it

My friend only laughed harder. And then, he challenged my perspective:

• Perhaps worms dying on the sidewalk are God’s solution to over population
• Maybe it was chosen as a sacrifice to the worm Gods and will live in shame because it lived
• What if our wormy friends honor death and I interrupted a spiritual rite of passage?
• He/she (do worms have gender?) could be a serial killer condemned to die and I put him back in their community.

I thought my walking buddy was being quite creative, but had to admit that my perspective might be limited due to my frame of reference.  Since then, I have been observing other perspectives I have and opening to the idea that there may be more to what is going on than I know.  I finally admitted to my friend that he had made his point.

But, I must admit, I am still rescuing worms.