Saturday, April 16, 2011

New Opportunities

First off, I'd like to start this blog post with news of a Sea Shepherd event coming to Seattle on April 30th from 7-11pm. The event is a fundraiser for the purpose of introducing the new Sea Shepherd Seattle chapter. Ryan and I will be traveling to Seattle on Friday, April 29th to gear up for the event.

Many Cove Guardians will be present including myself, Ryan, Scott West, Elora Malama, Libby Miller, Rob Lorkiewicz, David Blanchard & family, Bob Timmons and more. This will be the first reunion for many of us, to visit with those who became Cove Guardians on the past campaign in Taiji. We're very much looking forward to meeting everyone and bonding again with fellow activists who also witnessed the atrocities in Taiji, Japan.

There will be many items to auction, both silent and live. The event will also feature a slide show, dessert bar, raffle, and a photo booth. If you live in the Seattle area please come out to support SSCS at this fantastic evening event! You can purchase tickets here.

On another note, Ryan and I were recently asked if we would like to participate in the upcoming campaign in Palau. We, of course are very interested in the campaign and will have details available soon. Palau boasts a shark sanctuary, the only one we currently have on this planet. Sea Shepherd recently signed an agreement that allows the conservation society to enforce shark protection laws in the sanctuary. For more information visit http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-110331-1.html

Japan has recently issued a statement that you can find here claiming that Palau should reconsider this decision. Japan has also stated that they will send a vessel (at their own cost) to Palau to assist with the shark sanctuary. But wait a minute....Isn't Japan facing a nuclear crisis? Should the country not be more concerned with the danger faced by its citizens in wake of the devastating tsunami and Nuclear disaster? One would think that Japan has larger issues to tackle, instead of competing with Sea Shepherd over protecting sharks. Considering Japan once contributed to the decimation of over 10 million sharks per year for the shark finning industry in Kesen'numa, a city that was destroyed by the tsunami, it would not seem that protecting these creatures is high on their list of priorities. It seems to me that Japan may be attempting to turn this into a pissing contest, one to declare who is better suited to save sharks. This shouldn't be a difficult decision. Sea Shepherd has more than proven its ability to protect ocean wildlife wordwide. It is time for the Japanese Government to understand where their responsibility lies. Where, you ask? Their responsibility lies in protecting their people who are facing homelessness, lack of food, fresh water, and the possibility of widespread nuclear disaster.

Stay tuned for more news soon!

For the Oceans,
Tarah








Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Life Lessons

I have learned quite a few life lessons due to our experience surviving the Tsunami in Japan.

I've come to realize how precious life is. We often take each day for granted, spending our time working monotonous jobs for the purpose of making money to spend on items we neither need nor want. Some of this is done to gain status in society. Sometimes we fill our lives with experiences that do not further our happiness simply to fill a void, one we often do not realize is present.

Prior to this past trip to Japan I had decided that my life was going to be filled with fulfilling experiences. I would wake each morning happy to be alive, grateful for what the new day would bring. I decided not to waste my time trying to fit into society's norms or work a job that does nothing to help this world. Of course we're taught to believe that traditional work is necessary. We must compromise our ethics and happiness to purchase a house, vehicles, food, material items, and to have pleasant experiences. I don't believe that this is either true or necessary. I've declared that I will spend my life volunteering for what is right, and the rest will work itself out. There is no reason that we should not follow our dreams.

There's a quote i'm fond of and have found in my experience to be true.
"Follow your bliss and the Universe will open doors where there were only walls."

This past weekend my partner, parents, and I traveled to Seattle to visit Scott and his family. It was a fantastic weekend. Prior to leaving Seattle we participated in a rally for Lolita to raise awareness for her 40 years of captivity. For the most part we received positive feedback.

 Also prior to leaving Scott happened to mention the new SSCS campaign in Palau. He asked Ryan and I if we were interested. I had been feeling a bit unrested, eager to get on the move again. This is just what I was on the lookout for. We told Scott that we were certainly interested. It is my hope that we can become a part of the crew to participate in the Shark finning campaign in Palau. If you have not read about the campaign you can do so here. As I was mulling over the idea of heading to Palau for the next few months I thought about something that Scott had said to me on our way back to North America from Japan. I had been watching "The Secret" on the plane ride home. Underneath each speaker was a word that described the individual such as "philosopher", "metaphysician" or "Author". Scott had asked if I had one word to describe myself. One word to sum up my existence here, to outline my hopes, dreams, and ambitions. I have not yet come up with that one word. I have a feeling that I will find it sometime soon.

I've had an internal battle as to whether to post another blog here or not. On the www.30bananasaday.com forum I have been posting about "The Secret" and the Law Of Attraction for the last while. I understand that not everyone agrees with or is interested in this concept. I prefer to keep this blog about my Ocean activism experiences, but for those of you who are interested in thespecifics of making your dreams come true please feel free to visit my blog roll on 30BaD.

Now is the time to live life the way you have been dreaming of. The largest mistake people make is to focus on how they are supposed to act. Dwelling on the logistics have never gotten me anywhere. You must simply focus on what you wish to experience and achieve. You may just find that the "how" works itself out while you're busy dreaming about your desires.


For The Oceans,
Tarah