Courage

I'd like to start my post today with an inspirational quote I found yesterday while at work.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear".

I feel that this quote is very important when deciding whether one would like to travel to Taiji to help the dolphins. Of course there are risks. But we must look beyond ourselves at  the larger picture. In the past, 23,000 dolphins have been caught in one season. Many of these dolphins are sold to marine parks for unnecessary human entertainment. The rest of these dolphins are brutally and again, unnecessarily slaughtered for what some like to call "food".

It is certainly smart to act cautious when making a decision such as this, but we should not let fear stand between us as a barrier when given the opportunity to save lives. This blog is about my journey to Taiji, the trials and tribulations that I will encounter while raising funds, staying positive, and while arriving in Japan and dealing with the authorities there. But even though this is an account of my experiences, I would like to encourage others to take the leap and join me in Taiji.

A tool that I find effective is to place our own lives on the same level as theirs. We are not more important, nor less, but equal. Their lives are just as important as ours, and we must care for them as we do ourselves.

                                                                   (Steve Bloom)

For the Dolphins,
Tarah

I Have a Dream

Hello fellow ocean lovers,

As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive."

 My dream is not all that different than the one of MLK Jr. I dream of witnessing the end of oppression, exploitation, and unjustified slaughter of our oceans. 

This being my first blog post here, I will explain my cause. I've been an ocean activist for 3 years since learning of the positive change brought about by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. During these 3 years I have spent my time advocating for all animals and ocean life. Earlier this year I had the amazing opportunity of volunteering for Sea Shepherd in the Galapagos. My partner and I spent 3 weeks in the Galapagos Islands, working  with Alex Cornelissen. We worked on operation Zunisweep and "big rod, small brain". Haha. Title courtesy of Alex. The time has come again for me to travel the distance to assist in saving ocean wildlife. 

The dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan resumed this year in the beginning of September. For those of you who are not familiar with the issue of dolphins in Japan, please visit http://www.thecovemovie.com/.  For those of you who are familiar with the issue, you'll know that no dolphins have been killed this year. This is due to the positive presence that Sea Shepherd continues to maintain in Taiji. Maintaining this presence is absolutely vital for survival of these serene, musical creatures. There has been a call to action. I must answer this call.

Through a series of events, I have come to see that I must travel to Japan. The responsibility of saving dolphins in Taiji is not one that I take lightly. I have felt a yearning to participate in this campaign since viewing "The Cove" some time ago. The dolphins will live as long as the cameras are rolling and pictures are taken. When the dedicated activists in Japan disappear, so does the only lifeline that these dolphins are holding on to. 

I must answer the call to action. I'm willing to risk my own safety to protect these beautiful creatures. But I cannot do this alone. I require the generosity and support of others to make this possible. 

I have a dream. A dream to one day witness the dolphins swimming freely without fear of slaughter. 

Will you help me?