Water is Life
I am one of the ‘ladies from Massachusetts’ referenced in this brilliant article about my new friend (and Earth warrior) Kristin Hissong. She inspired me to write my version of our heartwarming encounter on a remote, deserted beach on Hatteras Island. Please read on for some wisdom and tips on how being a friend to nature can improve your well being.
Many of us flock to the ocean or to places in nature to enjoy the beauty and to soothe our weary souls. But what if there is a fundamental flaw in our approach – a missed opportunity to remember a sacred contract which we’ve largely forgotten?
In my daily meditation and spiritual practice, I’ve been connecting more deeply with the elements (including water) over the past few years. In Shamanism it is believed that everything is alive and has a spirit, including water.
Humans are mostly water. In fact, the heart and brain are made up of approximately 73% water. We are in an intimate relationship with water, but is the relationship a healthy one?
Like any relationship, the more time you invest, and the more you balance the give and take, the healthier the relationship will be.
Without water we would not have life, but what do we give back? How often do we honor and offer sincere thanks?
Giving Back
Once I started to consider the ocean a friend with whom I connect on a daily basis (whether we were physically together or not), it became more difficult to watch her coughing up mounds of plastic every day.
I started to carry 2 trash bags with me in my pockets for my daily beach walks. By the end of most walks, they were full to the brim and I sometimes had to leave trash behind.
I bring the 2 plastic bags with me from home (they’re bags people have given me – I haven’t taken a plastic bag from a store in many years) and I use the same 2 for my entire trip unless they become too ripped.
I dump the trash directly into a dumpster or garbage can and reuse the bags. This is another gift we can offer to the earth and ocean. Why generate trash picking up trash?
I learned to bring a Swiss army knife with me to make sure I could remove all the tangled fishing line I was finding wrapped around everything. I looked for more ways to be helpful, as any good friend would do.
Although some days I was cold and tired and tempted to just enjoy the sunset and look for shells, I have seen fishing line wrapped around the legs of birds, and the flippers of a turtle, and I’ve seen picture of whales’ stomachs choked with plastic. As little as one bite of plastic can kill.
During a recent necropsy of a whale washed up in Florida, a sharp piece of stiff plastic, not much bigger than a credit card, was removed from the stomach. The whale had probably swallowed the shard while feeding near the ocean floor, and it had perforated the stomach lining. There were no other injuries. Plastic had killed this majestic 38-foot long creature.
A mindless moment for a human leads a non-human animal one step closer to extinction.
Photo Credit: FWC
In the moments when I am tempted to walk over that bottle cap, or pretend I don’t see the tiny plastic wrapper sticking out of the sand, I remember what a privilege it is to take a few minutes out of my day to do this one small thing, and the potential consequences if I do not.
Credit: NOAA fisheries
Meeting a Soul-Sister
This year, on the coldest, windiest day of the year, I decided to drive to one of the wildest parts of the island. I always like to see what washes up on the beach in such stormy weather In addition to the trash, people sometimes find treasures such as ancient coins from shipwrecks, and even fulgurites – magical objects which form when lightening hits sand. It was so cold and windy that I saw only one other solitary figure on the beach, also walking braced against the wind. They were wearing a backpack with trash spilling out of it, and were also carrying an armload of trash.As this was the first time I had seen another trash-picker (other than my own quirky friends who sometimes join me), I went over to say hello and to offer thanks to the petite woman hauling all this junk. I excitedly explained that I too had been picking up trash for a month and was elated to finally meet someone else doing it!
I felt like I instantly knew her heart.
We had a lovely exchange, each thrilled to meet another person with a passion to be of service to the ocean. Kristen ended up giving me one of the treasures she had found that day: an intact scotch bonnet, the state shell of North Carolina (which now sits on my altar).
You can see some of Kristen’s treasures and take a beach-walk with her here.
My spirit was lifted so much by meeting Kristen!
Trash Comes With Treasure
There are spiritual as well as tangible rewards that come from being of service to something as powerful and majestic as the earth and the ocean.
Kristen said this in her Island Free Press article:
“I always seem to find my best treasures under trash. 90% of the time, if I pick up a piece of trash, there’s a treasure underneath, and especially on popular beaches… Once, I picked up a piece of Styrofoam as big as a plate, and underneath it was a dark red piece of sea-glass one inch away from me, in a shell pile that everyone else had rooted through.
It’s like the ocean is saying ‘thank you’.
At the end of the day, we all want to live in a beautiful world, and just because you don’t pick up trash now doesn’t mean you that can’t start. If you’re a beachcomber, you’re missing out if you don’t pick up that trash that everyone else left behind, because I guarantee you’ll find more treasure if you pick up trash.”
I couldn’t agree more, Kristen!
Young Turtle Lost his Way
Only the day before while I was beach-combing, I bent down to pick up what I thought was trash but it was actually the shell of a large turtle buried in the sand.
I had stumbled upon a juvenile green turtle washed up on the beach cold-stunned. This phenomena happens each year to a few turtles who don’t migrate fast enough before a cold front hits. The reptiles become too cold to swim and if they aren’t warmed up, they will die. I gave him my North Face jacket and sat with him while we waited for the official turtle rescuer on the island to arrive.
He made it to the turtle hospital but he had been too cold for too long and sadly did not survive. This sense of looking at the world in a new way, in a way that is looking for beauty but also looking to be of service allowed me the privilege of having some time with this prehistoric creature who is unfortunately on the verge of extinction.
How You Can Strengthen Your Friendships
You don’t have to be by the ocean to start to befriend water, or earth. It begins with an attitude shift; a general awareness that we are Water (and Air and Earth) and a curiosity about how you can be of service.
A great way to get started is to check out ‘The Story of Stuff’ webpage. They make brilliant short videos to illustrate how some of our common habits are causing big harm. After watching, you may decide to stop buying bottled water, or anything with micro-beads in it, or using straws or single-use cups/cutlery.
The Emmy-nominated ‘Years of Living Dangerously’ on Showtime or Amazon Video might also give you some ideas.
Start small but keep going. We are currently in a race between consciousness and catastrophe. Let’s come together to choose wisely. Let me know what you think and what changes you are excited to make! Do it all with a loving intention and see what gifts flow back to you.
Wishing you well and cheering you on.
I will likely offer only one Mindfulness Training in 2021, starting in the summer. Sign up for my email list to be the first to know when enrollment opens.
