An advocacy doesn’t have to be grand and expensive along with the shallow thirst for publicity. Sometimes, it starts with a few young people and a burning spirit to start saving the ocean at their own town.
Last May 6, 2017, I actually helped clean the coast in support for my friend Fearn A. Uy. I dragged my other friends to this environmental event that would actually spark awareness for everyone that they too could actually volunteer in saving the planet, one way or another.
It started by dawn and ended by noon. We were gathering scraps and bits of the human waste all over the coast with just gloves, empty sacks, and a burning spirit. Fearn is actually one of the A plus personality I met who would actually swim the deepest waters if she could just so to save the ocean.
Our task was to separate the trashes into many categories: plastic, biodegradable, cloth, glass, and metal. Scavenging wasn’t really a fun experience for everyone, and many would actually cringe at the idea. Others are totally repulsive in even picking up a trash, but my experience taught me that it is difficult to actually scavenge and separate scraps. The next time I see scavengers again, I would know the feeling of the hardship they are going through such as enduring the smell and basking underneath the sun.
It was also a meditative experience for me when I was sorting through the garbage. Each garbage actually belongs to a category and strictly should not be placed in the wrong sack. At times when I’m not laughing or talking with my fellow volunteers, I meditated on how much garbage we actually have inside our minds. We just needed to sort it out first before we throw them out.
Regrets in the past — Non-biodegradable
These are regrets in the past that will continue to haunt us, but we need to wait until we could actually move on from it.
Pain from the past —- Biodegradable
We actually need to let go of the past already, and the heart craves for forgiveness. Sooner or later, it will actually pass, and once it’s gone, there will be no more trace.
Mistakes in the past —- Metal
Although we might have loathe ourselves for creating them, we actually learned from it. Just like rusting metal, we could actually use it to keep ourselves strong.
Desires in the present — Cloth
We need to somehow let go of some vanities that cloud us from true happiness such as getting filthy rich, or marrying the most handsome guy on earth. But goals are different because it gives us purpose.
Ego in our whole life —- Glass
The ego is so powerful that we keep nurturing it, and taking care of it for it not to break. But sorry, it breaks us because it blinds us sometimes to serve ourselves rather than thinking for others too.
Indeed, the coastal clean-up was so fulfilling. It did not only challenge me to bask under the sun because I hate being under the sun (vampire genes are actually dominant), but it humbled me in many ways too because where do you actually go closest to the most disgusting, most horrifying, most awful smelling, and most unattractive place? At the garbage.
Photos from maam Judy Partlow, Ronelyn Vailoces, Fearn Acibo, and Sir Andrew Casuncad
Miel 