Written by Chinwe Kalu, WWF’s Journey Advertising and marketing Undergraduate Intern
Ode To Pleasure
They inform us life strikes in seasons. That winter at all times offers approach to spring. That each incidence is available in waves, and just like the ocean tide, it at all times recedes finally. They are saying, “wait your flip, endure, persevere, and survive” as a result of aid is at all times coming, simply previous the horizon. However what if that’s a lie? What if the horizon retains shifting? What if the factor you’re ready for by no means actually arrives?
I discovered myself asking these questions in the midst of one thing sudden–not a remedy session or a non secular retreat, however whereas watching a Leatherback sea turtle drag its heavy physique throughout the attractive Luquillo sand. It was late. The seaside was quiet, the sky dimly lit by stars. I had traveled right here hoping to witness a fantastic sundown, however I didn’t understand I’d additionally witness a nesting, and with it, a metaphor for every thing I had been carrying.
Sea turtles return to the identical seashores the place they have been born, many years after hatching. In opposition to not possible odds, they push ahead: over plastic particles, previous rising tides, beneath the specter of predators and lights that lead them the flawed means. They return not as a result of it’s simple, however as a result of it’s obligatory. And in watching her sluggish, regular, deliberate actions, I started to know that possibly the purpose isn’t ready for a brand new season. Maybe it’s studying learn how to transfer by way of the one you’re in, with grace.
This can be a story about sea turtles. But it surely’s additionally about survival, and the quiet power it takes to maintain going, particularly when the horizon retains shifting.
© Fílmico Colombia/WWF-US
Survivors of the Sea
There are seven species of sea turtles on the earth immediately. Two of the 4 households of contemporary sea turtles are presently alive, courting again over 110 million years. From the second they hatch, sea turtles face the not possible, the place solely about 1 in 1,000 survive to maturity. They crawl towards the ocean beneath the duvet of evening, dodging birds, crabs, and misdirecting lights that may lead them astray, and IF they make it to the ocean, the journey has solely simply begun.
Some species journey hundreds of miles throughout whole oceans simply to return to the identical stretch of seaside the place they have been born. It’s a feat not but absolutely understood. They do that not as a result of it’s simple, however somewhat instinctual, as a result of some a part of them is aware of the place they belong.
Their lives are quiet epics. Watching that sea turtle on the seaside, I couldn’t assist however consider all of the issues in life that attempt to pull us off target—grief, worry, uncertainty. But right here was a creature who, regardless of all of it, had returned. Not as a result of the journey was assured, however as a result of it mattered.
© Nat Hab
Stacked Odds
Regardless of having navigated the world’s oceans for eons, human exercise has positioned some species getting ready to extinction. Plastic air pollution is likely one of the most devastating threats. A floating plastic bag can resemble one of many sea turtle’s favourite meals, a jellyfish. Consuming even one piece will be lethal, and sadly, it’s not a uncommon incidence. Trash on seashores may even entice hatchlings and forestall them from reaching the ocean.
Moreover, local weather change is altering the very sand they nest in. As a result of the temperature of the sand determines the intercourse of hatchlings, the place hotter sand produces extra females, rising world temperatures are creating imbalanced populations and placing future replica in danger. Sea stage rise threatens nesting seashores, whereas altering ocean currents have an effect on meals availability and doubtlessly introduce the turtles to new predators.
It’s at all times been tough for sea turtles to outlive. However now, the chances are stacked increased than ever. Regardless of their power, sea turtles can’t outrun (or swim) these modifications alone. Their future is dependent upon ours.
The Weight We Carry
Watching that leatherback transfer by way of the sand, I didn’t simply see resilience. I noticed reflection. I noticed each feeling I’ve ever identified: smiling by way of exhaustion, softening my tone, carrying weights I didn’t ask for. That turtle, dragging herself throughout the sand, jogged my memory that survival isn’t at all times sleek—however it’s highly effective.
We stay in a world that tells us to attend for the best time, the best model of ourselves, the best season to start. A world that asks us to shrink, to clean our edges, to be agreeable earlier than we will be seen as worthy.
However I’m studying to reject that. If the world received’t grant us a season of ease, then we should create one. Of selecting ahead movement, even when it’s sluggish. Even when nobody sees it.
Even when the horizon retains shifting. As a result of we’re nonetheless right here.
And that, in itself, is a type of triumph.
© Polly Bowen / Nat Hab
A Future We Share
Sea turtles have lived on this planet for greater than 100 million years. They’ve survived the extinction of the dinosaurs, shifting continents, and altering oceans. And but immediately, it’s human exercise from bycatch, air pollution, local weather change, and a lot extra that threatens their future greater than any pure incidence ever has.
Their survival now not solely depends on their intuition but additionally on our actions. Our willingness to guard the seashores they nest on, the water they journey by way of.
If we hear carefully, we’ll understand their story can be ours—a narrative of persistence, of quiet power, of displaying up repeatedly, even when the tide is towards us.