If you don’t cry after this watching this video, I don’t know what will… this is the story of a young boy, Emmanuel Kelly who regardless of his life was able to move an entire audience of people just through his song. It is a clip from the show the X Factor, and the reactions and movement from the performance are incredible. What I want you to think about through out the video, is NOT how pathetic your life is or your worries, it should not be how you should be more grateful.
I want you to stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about the mother of this boy. I want you to think about the bravery of Emmanuel and the smile on his face. This is proof that there is still good in the world, proof that humanity can change, that the commodification of our capitalistic, money driven and individual self-worth lifestyle can change. We can be a race we are proud of, we can save the world, because at the end of the day, each and every single one of us is moved by this video… If you want to make a difference, just believe there is another way.
I have decided to initiate a new series of food for thought for the travelers mind: Thought for Travel. A friend from Semester at Sea posted this link on Facebook to spread the word about our worlds oceans and beaches. The truth is, if you are anything like me, the beach and ocean is one of the most beautiful things on this planet. We all dream about the beach, visiting, living, surfing, swimming or what ever else it may be. However, we do not actually think about how much we are harming our beaches, hurting our oceans and destroying so many livelihoods. One Beach Film is a short documentary on saving the oceans and special people who have taken initiatives to turn trash into something beautiful. As a Semester as Sea Alumni, the ocean was home to me for four months, and as a Free and Easy Traveler, I spent most of my summer living on beaches, and admiring their beauty. This issue affects all of us, and we should stop affecting the oceans. I dare you to watch this video, to learn, to get inspired and to understand.
Also… in case you want to know more about the real effect we are having on our Oceans: this video is a who, what, where, when on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that is twice the size of Texas, and completely our fault. One Beach Film shows the personal stories and initiatives by humans to reduce, reuse and recycle the waste that turns up on our beaches; but it is time to learn how you can stop contributing to this crisis. Every piece of plastic ever made still exists today, so when you throw out that plastic bag, or toss your plastic water bottle… if no one picks it up, it will stay there in that spot forever and never decompose. It’s time to educate and inform yourself… ignorance is not bliss.
So you have seen the films, understand the problem, and are ready to take measures to help. What can you do? This is the fun part and it’s easy!
Save money, tons of money just by reusing an aluminum water bottle.
Leave canvas shopping bags in your car so you always have them with you and arn’t tempted to indulge in those horrible plastic bags.
Pick up garbage… if you see plastic on the floor, through it out.
Avoid anything plastic… if you own plastic, take care of it. It will last forever and should be treated as such, not as something temporary.
That’s all you really need to do! It’s not much, but in the end it means everything.
If you want more information check out these great sites!
