A Space for Sea Turtles

Thursday was World Turtle Day. I’ve always been utterly fascinated by these ancient sea creatures. And they are ancient! They’ve been around about 110 million years. Yep, they swam with the dinosaurs! What?

And oh, do they love to swim! Some migrate up to 1400 miles between their nesting beaches and their feeding grounds. They can stay under water for up to five hours, with their heart rate slowing and beating only every nine minutes. Again, I say, what?

They can live to be 80 years old, but most of their lives are still a mystery to scientists, since they spend the majority of their lives in the ocean and away from humans.

I could go on and on about these amazing creatures. How the Kemp’s Ridley is only 30 inches long, while the Leatherback can grow to be over 6 feet long; or that sand temperature is what determines the sex of baby sea turtles; or that sea turtles can’t retract their head or arms into their shells like other turtles. Or…oh…the facts!

But today I’m not focusing on facts; today, I’m contemplating sea turtles and something deeper than numbers. For me, sea turtles are so much more. They are indeed a powerful presence on our planet.

And when I think about turtles, I think about connections. My heart is screaming for meaningful and loving connections.

You only need turn on the news or scroll through Facebook to see how “disconnected” we all are right now. It’s just been too much for me lately, so I’ve turned the TV off, stayed off of Facebook, and have sought calm and healing through other means: yoga, meditation, reading, snuggling with my kiddo.

And…I’ve been thinking about sea turtles, a lot!

Turtles live in the ocean, their livelihood depends on it! Now, another fact about sea turtles is that they endangered…some species critically so!

Why? Because their habitat, the ocean, is polluted with plastics and garbage and all manner of horror!

I live in Colorado, a land-locked state, not even close to the ocean. And yet, my behavior can and does affect the health of our water supply, our oceans, and ultimately, sea turtles.

I do not live in a bubble.

You do not live in a bubble.

We do not live in a bubble.

What we do affects others, human and animal (and planet), alike.

We are connected. All of us. From the smallest ant, to the largest elephant.

We. Are. Connected.

And turtles remind us of that. They remind us of our connections to the planet, to the ocean, to everything, really.

Put America first. Make America great. What?

Sigh…this is naive thinking, and quite dangerous. Like somehow we are separate from those who don’t look like us or sound like us or think like us. Rubbish!

Enough.

Enough!

I am weary to my bones with it all!

So today, I choose the sea turtle! Dear glorious and ancient creature of the sea, I choose to help you by living more connectedly. I choose less plastic to help you. I choose to reduce my carbon footprint because of you. I choose to be kind, because of you.

I choose love over hate because of you, and that is what makes connections stronger and healthier, and in the end, makes us all safer.

And that is the lesson of the sea turtle: You are not alone. We are all connected. And the actions you take (or don’t take), matter.

Lovely!

Call to Action: What action can you take today, in your own community, to make a deep and lasting connection?