Once, on a small island in the Caribbean, there were fireflies that lit up the night sky like mini-paper lanterns. Their appearance in the dark was a potent form of magic. Night after night they appeared in multitudes. They allowed children and adults to dream, or at least, gave their dreams the sparkle of light that made them feel special. In the decades since, there have been many changes – to the landscape, society and norms – not least of which is development. Concrete has replaced grass and trees, ravines paved over, and multinational fast-food joints erected over bare, fertile soil.
The temptation to progress is so fierce, so embedded in our minds that we sometimes forget that it is a tradeoff – things are lost, too. The fireflies that were once makers of joy, precipitations of dreams, harbingers of wishes come true, are now endangered, in the Caribbean, and everywhere. With nowhere to go, no home, the fireflies that once lit up night sky and fuelled dreams have disappeared. Yes, they’ve been replaced by great, new, shiny fast-food restaurants, concrete buildings and all the trappings of modernity, but where, oh where, have the fireflies gone? Is a restaurant more valuable than a firefly or the other way around?
What is the measure of our values? It is a matter, of asking, do we have enough? Can we make do? Survive with what’s here already? Or, are we motivated by greed, the need for more, in extravagant, wasteful ways? What is the measure of progress? When is there enough to be satisfied? When is the balance achieved between progress and awe?
In this same little speck of an island in the Caribbean, there was a photo taken recently, of a house sitting in a field. Both the house and land were abandoned. It was hard to tell the materials from which the house had been constructed. Clearly, it had been covered in plaster and appeared like a typical house from the early to mid-twentieth century, with a little wear and tear on the galvanize roof. The caption read that it was an old sand and mud house that had withstood hurricanes, earthquakes, and heavy tropical rains and could go on for decades more. Not many of the concrete houses that replaced these of plaster and mud could ever be so flexible as to bend but not break, to cede a little to time without completely falling apart. By today’s standards this house is too small, too drab, made of materials that “the old people” used. In other words, in no way suitable to modern living. Yet, there it is, defiant in its existence, standing tall and proud as a living testament to “make do with what you have.”
The pursuit of progress and development is laudable, it has lifted millions from poverty, led to advancements and treatments and given us a lifestyle of which our ancestors could only have dreamed. But I am often reminded that we are borrowing the air we breathe and the water we drink. Literally, they are not ours. Belonging instead to past and future generations, recycled with time, as each generation comes and goes. We are all renters; we do not and cannot even own the very things that give us life. Sometimes, every so often, it is good to remember that we’re only passing through this earth, let us tread lightly.
What CSL is Loving Now
Plant
Get your green thumb on!
Summer bulbs like dahlias, anemone and calla lilies should be planted now. Refresh soil with a fresh layer of compost.
Eat
Perfect for picnics
Mix together mayonnaise or crème fraîche, sriracha, lime juice, salt, chopped parsley and tarragon. Add picked crab or lobster. Slather in a toasted bun.
Travel
Start planning a coolcation
Instead of sweltering destinations, opt for a coolcation this summer and start planning from now. Look for mountains, lake and forests in temperate locations.
This original article first appeared in the SPRING 2026 issue of City Style and Living Magazine.
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