Every year I try to commit to at least three beach cleanups. It feels important to me to go to the oceanside and do a simple service of picking up trash. The sand and the water are so beautiful. There is microlife that my human eyes can't even see, but my spirit feels it in the ocean spray and the roar of the sea.
Life nowadays moves so fast, it is far too easy to disappear into emerging technology and forget the simplicity and importance of remaining connected. I was at the coffee shop the other day and saw people sharing tables but they did not exchange even one word in the time they were with each other. It made me think we are moving into an era in which we are losing the ability to connect as people on the most basic levels. I look at the wax lined cups that go into that blue recycle bin, and the miles of non-disposable plastic straws, packaging, and coffee lids that go into the trash. I know that those things, even if they don't end up in the gutter right outside, will still end up in massive landfills. And for all of the people who think it's okay to throw a tiny piece of trash (a gum wrapper!) out the window or drop it on the cement, those flow into gutters, local rivers, and out to the ocean. There are swirling masses of trash miles wide in the pacific sea where the water is so impacted it is toxic and the animals are deformed or dying. I see that we humans are doing this. Our varying inability to take full responsibility for our carbon footprint creates this toxic death cycle.
I don't really believe in being depressed about the state of the world. Depression is easy to sink into, but if each of us took even one small action a day, then the world as we know it would change. We all have different ways in which we are called to make change. For me, a promise to go to the beach that I love, to walk the oceans with conscious awareness, and to pick up trash that others have forgotten, feels powerful.
A lot of the time, we slip out of our responsible roles due to overwhelm. I know that the 7-11 super gulp cup half buried in the sand could be from a mom with toddlers running so many circle around her that she simply forgot it there. I know that the fishing line tangled in seaweed may have come from an ocean animal who pulled free and broke the line in the process. There is no judgement in service, just love. When the service is done in love, then everyone heals. When the service is done in love, depression is transformed into hope. That hope touches others. It opens hearts and minds. It makes us even more aware, the next time we are on the beach or at a park that the grocery receipt that slipped out of our hands is really worth chasing after!
Our first beach cleanup of the year is on April 6th at South Salmon Beach. We will meet near the bathrooms and clean up the beach for an hour and a half. The data collected from the beach cleanup will be used by the California Coastal Commission to understand the trends behind pollution flow and create real solutions for the future. It is a wonderful way to spend the morning. We will be there, Rain or Shine. I hope you will give me a call and join us to bring some conscious effort towards keeping our waterways clean!
blessings,
Dailey
No comments:
Post a Comment