When there’s not much one can do…

… one resorts to what what can. For me, that’s filmmaking; cinema.

I turn to film when I feel lonely, dwarfed, or for want; when I feel inspired, excited, or intentional. And if it’s not film, then it’s our Earth to whom I turn, usually in the form of camping or climbing or exploring. But at rare times, I turn to both.

Today is #WorldOceansDay. While I’ve always claimed to be a “mountains gal” (as opposed to an “oceans” one), I can’t deny the power of our planet’s oceans. Perhaps it’s precisely that power that intimidates and alienates me, makes me feel uncomfortably reminded of my insignificance. Biologically speaking, the ocean is the ultimate party to which we were not invited. We literally cannot breathe in it and the issue of locomotion is laughable; we’re like beans on stilts in a world that requires broad flippers or wings to make any headway. As with the cosmos, I just can’t seem to wrap my head around the ocean; so I don’t really try very often.

However, there’s one factoid that continually brings my attention back to the oceans, that rubs my nose in my own discomfort: every year, anywhere from 5.3 to 14 million tons of plastics find their way into them, according to the NRDC. Plastics that benefit no creature or species but our own. Plastics that, in fact, almost exclusively cause harm to other species that come into contact with them. So, while we weren’t invited to the party, we still ensure that we trash it every year.

5.3 to 14 million? That’s a legitimately absurd quantity. In reaction to that statistic my mind goes through all the stages of grief. And then I so often land back on my feelings of hopelessness; that feeling of being dwarfed by the gravity of an issue that so upsets me.

But last month, in the face of something about which there’s not much I can do in the grand scheme of things, I turned to what I can. And I directed this piece on the matter:

And, wonderfully, The Ocean Foundation has picked it up for its cause. So perhaps filmmaking isn’t the most useless of skills, though I’ve still much to learn/do in the line of consuming less and valuing our oceans more; I suppose we all do. And that is an intrinsically human cause.

Thank you. Have a nice day.