Power Behind Our Choices

The law of action and reaction, also known as Newton’s third law of motion, states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Meaning that for every action we make there is a corresponding reaction somewhere at some point in the world. Most recently, the Fourth Coral Bleaching Event was announced by NOAA: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration : National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration and International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) stating that bleaching-level heat stress has been confirmed, and is continuing, in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean basins. This is the second global bleaching event in the last decade. NOAA’s CRW coordinator, Dr. Derek Manzello stated: “As the world’s oceans continue to warm, coral bleaching is becoming more frequent and severe. When these events are sufficiently severe or prolonged, they can cause coral mortality, which hurts the people who depend on the coral reefs for their livelihoods.”?

When you choose a brand, what’s the first thought going through your head? Usually it’s something along the lines of “Damn, I wanna buy that.” or “That looks nice, I’m going to buy it.” For whatever reason, when you decide to buy a product, from pharmaceuticals to phones to toys, you can be certain that the ocean is involved in a way we’re just not fully aware of. Knowing what goes on behind the scenes in how something is made is just as, if not more so, important to affecting your long-term purchasing decisions. Economists have been discussing for years the long-term repercussions following the decisions we make when we decide to make a purchase and how each one has an effect on the environment around us.?

So if every action has a reaction, how then to explain the power of the individual? Power is never an easy concept to describe as it is somewhat mercurial, always falling through our fingers as much as we do our best to grasp it. It is almost as though the harder we try the more difficult it is to find what we seek. Back when we first made the evolutionary decision to let our fear rule us we first discovered we were not alone on this #Earth and there were others just like us. Yet decided that just because they looked and sounded different, death and enslavement were a better option than thinking about what we could learn from each other. Things haven’t changed much. Our ancient primate brains still view the world as though it is ours to consume instead of to live upon and enjoy the bounty it provides as the rest of the organisms on this planet can enjoy.??

It is in our nature to calculate and ponder but not to find beauty and wonder in the natural world around us. We prefer to sit in tiny boxes and decide to let ourselves be led by others to ensure someone other than ourselves can be held accountable in case we are unable to accept our own mistakes and take responsibility for our actions. According to a 2020 article by the World Resources Institute , pre-COVID-19, the global ocean economy tourism was valued at $390 billion. There are recovery funds that could prevent furloughs by creating jobs and hiring people to restore valuable coastal ecosystems, growing a market opportunity in the blue economy. Nature-based job creation programs that were developed during the Great Depression, such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, could use U.S. stimulus funds to keep workforces active by installing upgrades in water treatment plants to create more sustainable drinking stations in heavily populated cities to reduce plastic pollution. The article goes on to suggest different evergreen solutions from investing in the future of the ocean economy by growing natural ocean parks to suggesting ways to digitize the waters using AI. In an ideal world, any of these would be a resource investment. Unfortunately, life is not so easy to provide such a realm for us, which is why when presented with choices most of us choose the quick easy way out instead of the longer more difficult one, fraught with obstacles and unknown variables while we stumble along hoping to make and reach our journey’s end. There is true strength to be gained from a prickly path, once fallen we only must pick ourselves back up to continue along the road to reach its destination to gain the power we seek from the choices we make.?

The OECD - OCDE states that an ocean economy is “the sum of the economic activities of ocean-based industries, together with the assets, goods, and services provided by marine ecosystems”. These marine ecosystems can be so diverse and range from twisted wild stalks of #mangrove trees, looming lush green kelp forests, sponge gardens, #seagrass meadows, and #coralreefs of all colors, shapes, and sizes. These play city to some of the hardest-working marine life on the planet. The different types of marine ecosystems ensure that life operates smoothly below the waves and that even when times are tough, the different species stick together just as a community in an everyday city would and go wherever their ecosystem goes.?

The diversity and different kinds of marine life that are abundant in these ecosystems are what we enjoy that bring color and sound to our homes thanks to the latest technological improvements in photography and nature documentaries that we are seeing more and more of today. But as time goes on more of these beautiful natural systems will die out and it will be less likely we are to see these wonderful creations. We may live on land but does that give us the right to “own” it? NOAA explains the significance of coral reefs and in particular how they act as buffers to shorelines to protect against 97% of the energy from storms, waves, and floods preventing property damage, coastal erosion, and the loss of life of the millions of people living on the shorelines.?

Back in 2016, @Dr. Jeffrey M Doyle wrote an article on the impacts of ecological mineral studies and cases for different natural ecosystems. He goes on to discuss the effects of different types of mining operations and land development sites which are not only harmful to marine and wildlife but do not take into account that which we take far more than necessary from mineral-rich resources causing permanent damage, leaving nothing to grow back instead of taking the bare minimum which would leave for a healthy sustainable growth.?

Why is there such a need in the first place for such senseless acts of wanton violence and destruction? Is it someone else forcing us into a decision we don’t want to make? I grew up in a very strict orthodox Jewish household without being held accountable for any of my actions as my parents provided everything for me while not being given a choice in any of the decisions. This allowed me to understand that life will always give us lemons. We just need to decide whether to make lemonade or oil out of them. All the other questions like “when” or “how much” should come later, didn't stop me from constantly questioning everything and everyone around me. Leonor Carvalho, Ph.D. is a Life Coach and Hypnotherapist from Finland with a PhD in Biochemistry. Her specialty is in helping entrepreneurs help manage burnout and understand how #selfsabotage makes us not only our own worst enemies but that when our brain recognizes certain patterns this can lead to #cognitive distortions, forcing us into a state of anxiety and self-doubt. Speaking from experience, this is extremely difficult to overcome. Once the pattern is recognized in the brain, it gets significantly easier to repeat. The key element in each thought recognition is being aware of the choice that led to that moment in time to break the cycle of self-sabotaging and begin to trust ourselves by giving ourselves the freedom of choice and beginning to allow our minds and bodies to recover by relying instinctively on itself to trust ourselves instead of constantly relying on those around us to provide for us. Using close friends and family as motivation is not a guaranteed recipe for long-term success in cutting through old habits and potentially falling back into the cycle. Gaining power back to ourselves comes through trial and error, pushing us to do uncomfortable activities or break out of our comfort zone in ways we know will challenge and question us. This is what gives us the strength to combat the bad habits we’ve built up over the years, forcing us to confront our ugly truths without anyone other than ourselves to hold accountable. Facing our demons gives us the courage to reach deep within and find what we knew existed within us the entire time. Everyone holds the key to discovering their existence, it’s just up to us to decide whether we are capable of accepting ourselves.?

If we all hold the key within ourselves to unlocking our existence and finding our power within, how can the decisions we make as individuals give us the #power to express ourselves? Finding a healthy way to express ourselves instead of self-sabotage is the key to self-evolution, or what we call today personal growth. This means as long as we can hold the ability to make a decision that we can trust ourselves and follow through on this will eventually lead to a better version of ourselves. That is the power that we hold, the right to choose the potential any of us can have. However, we have been succumbing to the whims of our desires and allowing others to use our will without allowing any time or energy for self-growth. Change is not something that comes easily or sporadically. It comes with hard work and a commitment to yourself. Consider the power of any successful individual. Whoever you’re thinking of didn't grow to become a Titan of Industry overnight. It takes a tremendous amount of time, effort, and luck to build anything truly great. No, we were the ones that chose to give them our power, our purchasing power, and each purchase we continue to make as consumers daily pushes us to become more and more part of a sum for which we can only blame ourselves. Rather than becoming the individual who can provide the solution for themselves instead of having to rely on others for it.?

For example, most large electronics companies mine rare minerals such as #tantalum to build tantalum capacitors for their use in high-temperature output. They are normally grown near deep-sea thermal vents which take millions of years to form but when we go down there, we end up destroying these vents. If you know a store doesn’t have good morals and values, stop shopping there. It’s as easy as going online and finding a brand that promotes healthy green or blue-sustainable products instead of sticking with the one that you know causes harm to the planet. Change has to start somewhere and it's that easy when it comes to making a decision and sticking with it since you know you're doing it for the best possible reasons. No one can shame you for doing something inherently good.?

With the polar ice caps melting due to the CO2 emissions in our atmosphere creating larger ozone hole while slowly heating the oceans causing more loss of biodiversity and ecosystems than ever before, there is still time to act. We still view the world as only a means to an end instead of having a means with an end. Imagine what it would be like if we lived as orcas or dolphins and were able to communicate with each other using only echolocation and sonar instead of body and facial expression. How would we as human beings be able to experience the planet around us? We’d be forced to view our lives in a way that most of us struggle to comprehend, which is what causes us to seek knowledge and wisdom instead of quest for power and domination. We’ve built what we feel is a security blanket, an insulated cocoon that keeps us safely inside as our expected life spans gradually decline over time due to the different systems and procedures we’ve established but we are also animals, meant to be outdoors with the wild. But what’s going to happen when Mother Nature decides it’s not ok? When she doesn’t like how we’ve been treating her and decides that Father Time should speed up? We share this planet with beings like you and I. They have families, relationships, and emotions just like the rest of us. Although we might think we are better than them that does not give us the inherent right to change the natural order.

Next time before you decide to purchase a product that you’ve always wanted or a brand that you love, take a second.

Question the “Why” and maybe you’ll realize life isn’t as simple as clicking the "Buy" button so we can begin to realize just how many reactions our actions can generate and make a genuine difference.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Ocean Literacy guide from the National Marine Educators Association (shoutout to Dr. Wallace J. Nichols for providing!) follow this link.

A big thank you to the World Resources Institute , OECD - OCDE , NOAA: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration , International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) , Leonor Carvalho, Ph.D. , Dr. Wallace J. Nichols , and @Dr. Jeffrey Doyle for providing the valuable online resource materials for research and study!