Drifting …..

Drifting Marble

The marble sits atop a piece of driftwood, in this case, likely carried from the desert canyons to the sea by recent rain storms that pummeled Baja.  Temporarily, it’s been cast by the sea via tidal swings, back on the shore.

The wood reminds me of other refuse, land-locked trash dumped by humans, that makes its way to the sea during storms.  This happens – not just in Baja – but in LA, San Francisco, Ventura, Texas, Alabama, Florida .. globally.  Every country and/or state that has a border with waters that swirl across our planet, has the need to put into place, protections for our common good.  Not just ours, but the creatures that inhabit the oceans and seas of Earth.  This is shared territory, bound between us by currents that pass effluents and pollutants from shore to shore, depths to shallows, north to south, and east to west.

The oceans have long been considered an amazing filter, but we humans – the biggest producer of toxins – have pushed the ocean’s health to the brink of collapse.  It is long past time to make environmental education a core curriculum in school system on the globe.

Beach Day w/the Marble

Walked the rocky shoreline of Crystal Cove and photographed the Marble in various locations and settings.

Rocky faces, tide pools, even a chunk of styrofoam. In every instance, mental notes were made in relation of the small blue orb to the larger planetary concept. How do we change up perceptions and habits?

How do we protect environments that are cherished?

How do we instruct the next generation to do and be better than we have? So many questions ..

The walk continues the conversation and quest for answers.

Travels of the Blue Marble

Serendipity.  The spontaneous response to random events.  I was sipping vino tinto at a pre-conference dinner in Loreto, BCS, Mexico.  Wallace J. Nichols of Grupo Tortugero dropped a small blue marble into my hand and whispered, “Everything will be revealed later.”

The marble for Wallace, represents our own spinning blue planet, and by placing it in each of the party-goers hands, he had asked each one to add another level of care-taking to our home, the Earth.

The caveat goes further, in a kind of play-it-forward fashion.  Gift the marble that you hold.  Share the wisdom of conservation and stewardship with others.

Mark Spalding, President of The Ocean Foundation, and I exchanged marbles.  But that’s a far cry from spreading the word.  We are both already devotees.  Mark has dedicated his life to finding ways to protect the oceans.   I have always believed that water cures anything, heals me.   Water makes and keeps me whole.  I understand on an intuitive level what clean water and a healthy planet means.

I have transformed this gifted marble into a tool to explore any and all aspects of my blue home planet.

Can’t wait to see where this takes me.