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Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Looking for a Miracle


Photo shared by Bay Cetology


I'm looking for a miracle.

I don't think we'll get a big one, any time soon: that the world will put down its guns and bombs, humanity will be woke, and leaders rendered sane, coming together to slow the climate crisis.

I'll settle for a smaller one: that an orphaned baby orca will be reunited with her pod in time to save her life; that lost dogs will be returned home; and abused animals will be rescued and, finally, learn what being loved is.

The Big Picture is daunting, with a planet in freefall. Leaders grapple over toxic power, and turn a blind eye to corporate destruction of the natural world, and the suffering of human and non-human beings in the name of the great god Money.

I'm grateful for the Smaller View: the blue sky I have been in love with all my life: a Sky-Show every minute! The eternal waves rolling in, as they always have and always will, on the shore and forever in  my heart.

My joy is the beauty all around: sunflowers and sea stars, poems, books, candles, and soft fuzzy blankets; newborn foals and mother ducks, and the warm, smiling eyes of well-loved dogs.

Under the great bowl of sky, already so many miracles: small as a tiny cell inside our amazing bodies; vast as the universe with its many galaxies: sun, moon, planets, stars in their mystical orbits.

Under this same sky may there come, one day, a miracle: a thousand years of peace, when the bombs cease and people turn to helping and feeding each other; bending together to pick up the rubble, using the fallen bricks to lay the foundation for a better tomorrow.

While we wait, please, Universe and Whoever is Listening, help one small helpless whale reunite with her grandma. That will be miracle enough for me.

***

On March 23rd, Spong, a mother orca, pregnant at the time, was beached in a small lagoon near Zeballos, when the tide went out suddenly and left her stranded. Her two year old calf was with her, calling to her mom as she thrashed and tried, with the assistance of First Nations and other villagers, to right herself. Sadly, she was on her side when the tide rushed in, and she drowned, despite everyone's best efforts. All this time, the orphaned whale the natives named kʷiisaḥiʔis (Brave Little Hunter) has been circling the lagoon where her mother last was.
 
Researchers and First Nations have been trying to encourage her out of the lagoon but the difficulty is the narrow opening only has enough depth half an hour a day for this to happen and the baby can't manage it. They talk of lifting her out in a sling by helicopter, and reuniting her with her pod, where she has a grandmother. But they seem to be waiting till that is the only option, given the trauma. My maternal instincts say they are waiting too long. Once she is in distress everything will be harder for her. She tried to eat a bird last Saturday so she is hungry and is too small to hunt a seal which is her normal diet.

One small whale is haunting my thoughts and will until she is safe. It will be a double tragedy if she does not survive. Orcas are an endangered species, only 73 of them left here on the coast. On April 2, her pod was located. Time is of the essence. I hold my breath until the brave little hunter is with her grandma.

for Mary's prompt at What's Going On: Miracles

13 comments:

  1. Sherry, I loved the everyday miracles you mentioned - the waves, the sunflowers, the books, the candles, the ducks. Some days, for my mental health, I just have to concentrate on the beauty of it all; and you have described a lot of natural beauty in wonderful ways.

    But, yes, I too hope the small orca will be helped to find its way. Poor thing.

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  2. "I'm grateful for the Smaller View: the blue sky I have been in love with all my life . . . .The eternal waves rolling in . . . . on the shore and forever in my heart."
    Oh yes! How I would like to have both views, and meanwhile, the smaller things are huge enough. Loving your vision.

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  3. Sometimes it all seems very daunting and out of reach, but even the smallest miracle can change the world. Your words convey your big heart and i love how you capture this.

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  4. A wonderful selection of everyday miracles, Sherry, although I’ve never seen a baby orca or a pod of whales – it would be a big miracle to see one off the coast of North Norfolk! I too am grateful for the smaller view, especially ‘sunflowers and sea stars, poems, books, candles, and soft fuzzy blankets; newborn foals and mother ducks, and the warm, smiling eyes of well-loved dogs’ – or in my case, cats.

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  5. There are so many simple beautiful wonderful miraculous things you love and share and that money cannot buy..

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  6. More poems, books, candles and soft, fuzzy blankets, too please! Oh, Sherry, I do hope the little one makes it. Whales are just so incredible.

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  7. I hope there will be a miracle for the young orca. There are many small miracles around us each day. I often think the gift of life is a miracle and we should bring honor to our lives. Truedessa

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  8. I hope your whale finds its way, Sherry.

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  9. Your's is a very thoughtful write. xoxo annell

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  10. My heart is full after reading your post, Sherry, grateful for the small miracles and the large overhead sky ones above, putting on their daily show. These make us forget for a time the money-grubbing, power-hungry, war-wagers, and the suffering they cause, yes, daily. And oh I pray that Brave Little Hunter will be with his grandmother soon!

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  11. I keep thinking about this. I hope the little guy swims free.

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  12. I too hope a miracle happens for the orca. It breaks my heart. We must hang on to the miracles no matter how small.

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  13. Such beautiful words Sherry! So full of heart. I wish the little one reunite with her grandma. May this happen soon and a miracle is born.

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