My wheels are spinning. I must be meant to do something more than just live my life. I'm starting to think certain things are connected, seeds are being sewn~ my love for painting nature/ocean/travel/self-portraits/the circle symbol as Earth, being moved by 'Who Killed the Eectric Car', 'Sharkwater', the Gulf Oil Gush, my love for animals/clean water/the ocean, our plans to do a huge continental road-trip, to make a documentary for the Banff Film Fest, to paint it, photograph it. Hmmm... I'll seriously think about seeking advice, see if anyone's done something like this before, start writing letters, trying to gain support, look into grants, funding, donations from generous hearts, perhaps from people who want to help connect my dots and encourage change. I've been told there are many people out there who want to help, all you have to do is ask.
I'm not an environmentalist or activist, I avoid confrontation, I prefer to live in my happy little bubble and turn my head, and just be grateful for the beautiful life I have. But crying for two hours this morning as I read the news and looked at birds so drenched in oil they didn't look like birds, horrified me and moved me and forced me to look at the overwhelming influence oil has on absolutely everything in my life and home.
I can see our road-trip surf adventure becoming a documentary and art project that touches people's lives we meet in a gentle and inspiring way. I've got some thinking to do. I've got zero contacts, zero savings, zero experience. Gotta figure out how I can make this happen...
I'm not an activist either, rather more of a pacifist & disciple of the "church of the open sky", but I agree that it's getting to the point where we need to take action to protect our beloved ocean.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could offer advice about how/where to start with grants, etc. I believe that you are beginning something wonderful, though! If I can be of any assistance from my corner of the continent, don't hesitate to ask : )
I recently ran across these two ocean loving events. They inspired the heck out of me!
http://www.handsacrossthesand.com/
http://www.bluemarbles.org/
Maybe they'll spark some ideas for you if you haven't seen them yet. You're not alone on your mission ~ best of luck!
Hey Pat, I'm totally with you. I just came across Hands Across the Sand yesterday. I just checked it out again and felt immediately moved. I wish it involved the entire continent, not just the US. I wrote to them and asked them to involve all of us. Hopefully there is enough time. If not, maybe I'll send the word out locally and see what happens. I have about 2-2 1/2 years, which doesn't seem like much, but if I start putting my feelers out now and making contacts, we might be able to pull it off. We were planning on saving up and buying a campervan anyway, but I'm thinking it would be amazing if we could pull the engine and replace it with a battery and solar panels on the roof. Thing is, there isn't anyone around here who does this sort of conversion. You've got to watch Who Killed the Electric Car if you haven't already. Pretty interesting! Anyway, you might not think you helped, but your morale boost and support is all I needed. Thanks Pat!! I've got lots of work ahead of me!!
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