Our Daily Ocean: Day 35

The first day of the new year.... our 1st clean-up of 2011 and it couldn't have been a more perfect day.... 64˚ meant flip flops... the New Year is looking good!!!

Looking up and down the beach strand... there were so many people that it looked like it was September at the beach (except the water is a frigid 47˚!!).  We were joined by my friend Bonnie Monteleone of The Plastic Ocean.  Bonnie is finally back from sailing across the South Atlantic Ocean with 5 Gyres... so we spent a good portion of our time talking about plastics in our oceans, beach clean ups and people coming together for this common cause-- our tiny blue marble... our planet... our home.

In 2010, I had a moment where I was thinking about how there are so many people doing things to make a positive impact on this world... then I said to myself (and a few people).... "What if we all came together??  Just imagine what that would be like..."**    Because when we come together... we can accomplish so much more.  As one, we are just a voice in a crowd... going about our lives doing what we do.  BUT... when we come together... together we have the ability to rise above being a crowd of individuals... and our voices become one and we rise above that crowd.  **(So you know... moments after saying that, I contacted my (now) friend Sara Bayles who writes The Daily Ocean blog... and you know where that led ;) )

I call them "friends."  Bonnie said that they're "butting up to each other." ;)

As we were picking up cigarette butts in the wrack line and then this straw... Bonnie said, "Like things travel together."  They sure do... that's why we're friends ;)

In 2010, I also changed my way of thinking.  I went from saying, "I want to help" to "I can help" to "I am helping."  I stopped wishing that I could make a difference.  And realized that I am the difference.  That's something that we all need to realize.  If no one has told you this year... let me be the first: 

You are the difference.  

"We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched.  Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential."  ~Ellen Goodman

20 minutes on January 1, 2011

Litter by weight: 13.5 oz

Cigarette butts: 431

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 35 days:

13,279