If you are anything like me, you are probably feeling more stressed out than normal. Reading the news is enough to make anyone depressed,afraid, and hopeless.
“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”-Krishnamurti
When I feel really stressed out, I know I need to spend more time in nature. It is the best way to connect to the Divine, and get a real boost of healing energy. I feel closest to God when I am camping. 🙂
We went camping in the Florida Keys this weekend. We camped at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and snorkeled pretty much all day Saturday, and all morning on Sunday.
Sunday afternoon, we drove further south, down to Islamorada for a picnic lunch and a swim. If you know the Florida Keys, you know in summer time, the water is warm, like a bath. It was sunny. It was bright.It was HOT. According to my phone it was 94 degrees but with the humidity, it felt like 110.
At midday, the sun’s rays were extra intense, so I found a place for us to have a picnic in the shade. I looked down at the water by the shoreline and instantly felt depressed and angry. There was garbage everywhere floating in the water. There was garbage in the bushes too.
There literally was trash everywhere!! But it was the only area with shade, so we sat down, made sandwiches and ate them quietly as we looked at the trash bobbing around the water. It was hard to eat my almond butter sandwich because the garbage was so upsetting. I kept shaking my head wondering “who does this?”
Feeling upset and grossed out, I walked out onto a limb of a tree and looked around. Just beyond the trash, was clear, beautiful, blue water. I saw small fish swimming around. I knew the plastic could easily end up in the belly of a sea turtle, a fish, a shark, or a bird. I argued with myself that “I didn’t create that mess, so why should I touch it or get involved”. But I realized that the tree I was standing on, also didn’t create that mess, a mess that was choking it. The animals that live there and depend on the ocean didn’t make that mess either, but they are now forced to swim in it.. Seriously, can you imagine, floating in a sea of trash?
With that, I jumped in the knee deep water and fished out a plastic bag. I began cleaning. My son joined in and within 20 minutes, the area was so much cleaner. It was beautiful. Amazingly, (sarcasm) there was a garbage can less that twenty feet away.
However minor our impact was, we made an impact. We felt good. We were working to heal the Earth, not harm her.
We jumped in the water to cleanse and cool off. And the ocean seemed to bless us with a particularly magical swimming session….
I keep thinking of that experience as a big lesson. It applies to all aspects of our lives.. There are many messes in the world right now, that maybe we didn’t make, and maybe we try to argue that “it wasn’t our fault.” but regardless of who is to blame, these messes are here, and if we truly want to make changes, we have to do something.
I prefer floating in a healthy, happy sea ~Tiff
Flowing Yogini 