Our Daily Ocean: Day 153

On August 9, my kids and I went back to where it all started at Access 43 just as we did on Our Daily Ocean: Day #1.  It's been 2 years since I walked onto the beach with a mission to help raise awareness about the cigarette litter problem on our local beach and a lot has happened and changed over these past 2 years...

With every step we take on the beach, something has always changed.  When we walked onto the beach on Thursday, we saw something we hadn't seen in the past 2 years.  The entire south end was completely roped off for the nesting beach birds!  It was really a sight to see... birds all over the sand and birds soaring above.  Plus, since there were so many birds (mainly skimmers and seagulls)... being there was a symphony of sounds.

I'm not sure I ever need reminders for why I keep doing what I do... but it's in moments like we had on Thursday that we pause... everything in the world seems perfect... just the way it was and the way it's supposed to be.  And in that moment, of hearing the birds and the waves... and feeling the sand on my feet and the salt air on my skin... I remember why I feel driven to help make the world a better place.

Over the past 2 years, I have had to remind myself that change doesn't always come easy or as fast as we want it to.  But that shouldn't come as a surprise because anything that needs repairing didn't happen overnight.  In order to do anything right (or worthwhile) it takes time, persistence and perseverance.  (nope, I won't give up)

And one thing that I know for sure, if we want to see a change happen in our world... and whatever that change may be... when we come together to make a change.... anything is possible.

20 minutes on August 9, 2012 at Access 43

Litter by weight: 1 lb 3.8 oz
Cigarette butts: 172
Straws: 5

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 153 days:

48,751