Environment – Philosophy from the sea

In an island nation like ours, it’s pretty easy to access the ocean. And in Mahurangi waters, the sea is warm and protected – a special kind of green. It’s rich in life, breathtakingly beautiful, as lovely as anywhere in the country or the world.

As well as giving us life, the ocean gives us lessons in life too, a philosophy from the sea.

The ocean can teach us so much, including respect, courage and care.
But you sometimes have to learn to love the sea in order to learn and live with her lessons. And to love the sea, you also have to live with fear of it. After all, fear is the beginning of wisdom.

So it was for me. In order to follow my heart and encounter “maximum marine environment”, I had to overcome fear of drowning, and indeed fear of fear itself. You feel pretty small and vulnerable out there afloat in a kayak – a self-propelled plastic pod – where you are reliant on yourself for safety.

But after about 25 years of kayaking, much of it in Mahurangi’s charmed waters, I’ve learned a lot. I’ve encountered leaping sharks and frolicking dolphins. They taught me not to discriminate, to love all species, including those with sharp teeth and those with smiling eyes. I’ve been overtaken and literally immersed in fluttering shearwaters by the thousand, as they leap-frogged across a harbour. I’ve seen beaches littered with fishing line, empty bait bags and soft drink bottles. That showed me that humans are the dirtiest animals. I’ve kayaked to islands of hope – Motutapu, Motuora, Tiritiri Matangi and Urupukapuka. These are refuges where people restore not just habitats and ecosystems, but are models of the good we can be in the world – our better selves.

This summer, at those nature reserves though, I also saw people taking their dogs ashore to follow their own calls of nature. A man from a yacht taking his fluffy small pooch to poo.

A group on a launch with their large mixed dogs at Te Haupa-Saddle Island among the dotterels and moulting penguins. The guy who turned up in his tinny to play fetch with Fido on the beach at Tiri. That taught me that sometimes dogs are less stupid than people, but it’s often the dogs that get the blame.

The sea has taught me to live like life’s a beach, to take the plunge, to “sea’s” the day. So if you can’t get hold of me, you know where I’ll be – immersed in philosophy.

Christine Rose
christine.rose25@gmail.com