Tag Archives: oceans

I dreamt I was a fish

Posted on by

I dreamt I was a fish.

Not just any fish, but a fish on a coral reef, swimming with my brightly colored friends. Together we made up a palette of blue, lavender, yellow, gold, orange, pink, green and silver scales, fins, tails and mouths. Our motions fluid. Our community hierarchy long established. Big fish eat little fish. Great white sharks down to the tiniest plankton and krill. Fastest fish wins the chase. Hiding places and ability to change color can save a life.

But something was different.

Something in the water.

Or lack of – on the water.

There were no nets to tangle or strangle us, or our warm-blooded mammal friends, the dolphins and sea lions. There were no hooks dangling from lines with bait. My friend once nibbled, and was gone, whipped to the surface, never to return. A different kind of predator.

Something was happening on the water.

No pleasure boats.

No tankers. No cruise lines.

I could see the blue sky and shimmering ripples of sunlight. No gooey oil sheen spewed from motors.  No sinking puddles of dark black goo settling on the sea floor. No man-made gunk. No cast-off plastic bottles, paper plates, napkins, party balloons, straws, or discarded food. The sea was like a mirror on windless days. At night, I could see the stars, and the flickering light of the moon fingered across the reef and the sandy bottom. My friends and I frolicked and multiplied. We rolled with the tides and spun with the currents.

For a few months in 2020, in the time of COVID, the humans left us alone.

I dreamt I was a fish… and the ocean was amazing.

Blue Mind …

Posted on by

Sunrise

“This is Your Brain on the Ocean,” is a must read article about our ‘own’ Wallace J. Nichols – who’s research and perseverance has led to protection and enhancement of turtle nesting grounds in and around Loreto (okay, and the globe).  The interview of Nicols by Jeff Greenwald for onearth,  a survival guide for the planet, explores the work of J. and the foundations he has created and supports.

When asked the question by Greenwald, “What do you mean by ” Blue Mind,” J. answered, “When we think of the ocean — or hear the ocean, or see the ocean, or get in the ocean, even taste and smell the ocean, or all of those things at once — we feel something different than before that happened. For most people, it’s generally good. It often makes us more open or contemplative. For many people, it reduces stress. And that’s ‘Blue Mind.'”

J. organized this past summer, the first Blue Mind Summit: “a revolutionary new approach to studying — and energizing — the complex relationship between humans and the sea.”  Nicoles believes that the our connection with the ocean is neurological, and an awareness of this inter-relationship can change the way we treat the seas.

The article and J.’s research opens the question and dialog : What is your own personal relationship with the sea?  What actions can you take to protect her bounty and beauty?  Check out : Blue Marbles for ideas of ‘random acts of ocean kindness.’