I just returned from a pretty amazing adventure to Cancun and Cozumel with my husband. It is currently mid school semester and a slice of “you only live once” got into us! When we returned, we had to dramatically sprint to catch up on everything! However, it was worth it! Sometimes you gotta just run away for a short time, jump in the ocean and feel the sun on your face. Ahhhh dreamy!
We had dinner overlooking the sunset and sea. We rented scooters and rode around the breathtaking island of Cozumel. We snorkeled and went on a couple of scuba dives, which is our very favorite way to explore! However, one of the most truly amazing experiences was unexpected and lasted just a few incredible moments.
We had stopped our scooters in Cozumel at a gorgeous beach and went to take a dip in the ocean. Then would you believe one of the couples that had been on the scuba dive the day before was on the same beach and came up to talk with us. We were just chatting there in the sunshine. When, out of the beautiful blue, a man dressed in official beach conservation clothing walked up fairly close to us leaned down and gently placed something on the sand.
A baby sea turtle.
So tiny! We all went silent in awe except for perhaps the small gasp of delight that escaped me. I asked the man where did this single turtle come from? He answered that the turtle had gotten turned around and headed the wrong way (a phenomenon that happens a lot with light pollution). Now we all watched as this tiny turtle worked to head towards the ocean.
The struggle was daunting. The turtle appeared already to be exhausted. It moved a couple inches forward, and then rested. There were probably 12 people now watching this majestic moment. The conservationist waited a few minutes and picked up the turtle and brought him 5 feet closer to the water.
I watched completely spellbound at the beauty of this moment but worried about the difficulty of the task! The dozen or so people watching were softly cheering the tiny turtle on! Why do some things have to be so hard?
Well, it turns out we need resistance to grow stronger.
For example, baby Chicks need to fight their way out of their eggs in order to gain the muscle strength to survive. Apparently, the instructions online for baby sea turtles, is to leave them alone (unless they are turned around by light pollution!)
All six varieties of sea turtles found in the United States are threatened or endangered. Between the bits of plastic littered in the ocean, fisheries, and light pollution there is a lot to combat for a tiny turtle who only weighs a couple of ounces.
What are the tiny bits of plastic in our lives? What about the light pollution that pulls us in a distracting direction? How about the exhausting trek towards the water? Sometimes it’s just hard. Ugh! So hard!
And yet in the journey we gain strength. Heavier weights develop stronger muscles.
I hope in the hard places of your journey you also have a group of enthusiastic people cheering you on. I hope we all choose to cheer each other on! There is plenty of difficulty to go around and frankly plenty of beauty! May we treasure the beauty and grow from the hard!
Keep going little turtle, you can make it!
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