When I began my journey to discover how to be a green boater, one of my mantras proclaimed boaters to be the ‘First Line of Defense’ to help protect the ocean. Now some 14 months later, I have come to realize that this is better stated as the ‘First Line of Opportunity’.
Huh?
Swapping out one word moves us from an act of war to an act of caring. Or better yet, away from anxiety, doom and despair towards peace, hope and freedom. This shift allows a perspective that empowers each of us to give back to our ocean out of respect, appreciation and love.
Perspective
Social media is rife with the horrible imagery of the state of our oceans. Overfishing, massive plastic islands and dying coral reefs to name a few. A single boater attempting to win this assault on our oceans by ‘defending’ seems daunting and overwhelming.
I am not asking we ignore the hard realities of pollution, climate change and unbridled consumerism. But in order to inspire a community, we need to realize the impact that each of us can have when we choose to truly begin to care for our oceans and our planet. Only then can the simple acts of one boater be multiplied exponentially to become a significant community of size who have seized the opportunity to impact the health of our oceans and marine life.
We have an opportunity to choose acts of caring and loving as we give back to the ocean in appreciation.
Boaters do represent the First Line of Opportunity. For a cleaner, healthier ocean.
~TGB