Healing the Waters and Saving the Whales

 "Farewell to Tarwathie" by George Scroggie

Farewell to Tarwathie
Adieu Mormond Hill
And the dear land of Crimmond
I bid you farewell
I'm bound off for Greenland
And ready to sail
In hopes to find riches
In hunting the whale

Someday our whales will be gone, only a memory like the Mammoth's, the Dodo Bird and all the other creatures that are now merely legends. Why am I posting about whales? They've been appearing in my life both in the dreamtime and the waking world in a fascinating synchronicity. I also know with the oil spill and all the blog posts about "healing the water" I had to write about the whale or I wouldn't be paying attention to my soul.

Farewell to my comrades
For a while we must part
And likewise the dear lass
Who first won my heart
The cold coast of Greenland
My love will not chill
And the longer my absence
More loving she'll feel

When I was a teenager I would visit my father who was divorced from my mother at his condo. in the Marina Del Rey. An area in Southern California, that lays right on the West Coast Ocean.We both loved nature and every year we would go out to see the whales migrating on one of the whale watching boats. When a whale emerged I was both fascinated and terrified. But, I was always a different person for the better after seeing them. I haven't been out on a whale watching tour since then, yet, I still see the whales swimming and emerging in my dreams, while I can hear their mournful songs in the background.

I once attended a lecture about our animal spirit guides or as some call them "totems."
The speakers addressed not the animals we were most drawn too, but the animals we were most frightened of as they were our greatest teachers and taught us about those places in ourselves that evoke fear, shame and all the other shadowy qualities we'd rather not face. My shadow animal for the past few years has been the whale. I have an occurring nightmare about being swallowed by a whale. Yes, like Jonah and Pinocchio. I am blessed to be in therapy with a Jungian therapist who specializes in the dreamtime and I always bring my dreams to her to see what insight she may have, that I may not have thought of. We both came to the understanding that being swallowed by a whale (always a Humpback) meant I was drowning in the clinical depression I have and felt helpless and hopeless. I haven't had those dreams ever since I talked them over in counseling and now I have a new relationship with whales externally and internally.

Our ship is well rigged
And she's ready to sail
The crew they are anxious
To follow the whale
Where the icebergs do float
And the stormy winds blow
Where the land and the ocean
Is covered with snow.

One of the reasons is because of the movie "Whale Rider" that I've watched over and over again. The story evolves around a young Maori Girl and her tribe in New-Zealand and the legend of Paikea the ancestor of the Maori's who was saved from being killed from his brother by a whale and made a pact with them that a male of the tribal leader would be the protector of the whales as long as the Maori's existed. We meet a female "Paikea" who is the grand-daughter of the chief who is the newest Paikea instead of the traditional male. There's so much more to this story, so I strongly urge you to either read the book, see the movie or better yet do both. When this movie first came out, I was mesmerized by the beauty and message of the movie. I have the movie poster in my bathroom which is painted an ocean blue and I keep thinking about Paikea and her story. 'What could I do to help protect the whales?', I ruminated about.

The cold coast of Greenland
Is barren and bare
No see time nor harvest
Is ever known there
And the birds here sing sweetly
In mountain and dale
But there's no bird in Greenland
To sing to the whale

And then I started to watch the television series "Whale Wars" on the Animal Planet channel and became obsessed with it. The show documents the people who are the true warriors of the ocean in their ships and their battles to stop the Japanese who are slaughtering the whales in the name of scientific research. The show is gritty, bloody, heart-wrenching and shows the dark reality of how the whale is on the list for one day becoming extinct. To watch these whales, come up to the boats, curious, playful and graceful breaks my heart when a minute later, they are pursued by the Japanese ships and seeing the blood pouring out into the ocean staining it a violent red. You can't be faint-hearted to watch this show which I am, but I can't turn away any more and pretend that everything is being taken care of. So, I've read up on the killing statistics, the whaling laws, and the impact that everyone will suffer from should the whales all be killed off. It's scarier than anyone could possibly imagine. I'm not trying to preach or scare anyone into taking action. And I'm not about to head off to one of the ships to fight for the whales. I'm not that brave. But there are small actions that I and everyone else can take to help the whales. If you've never seen the show "Whale Wars" I've included a video that shows just a small but graphic view of the immense determination and strength these people are taking to defend the whales.

There is no habitation
For a man to live there
And the king of that country
Is the fierce Greenland bear
And there'll be no temptation
To tarry long there
With our ship under full
We will homeward repair

So when talking about "healing the water" which has been so beautifully written and blogged about, I'd love for you to think about warm-blooded mammals like ourselves who nurse their young, sing to each other, have an intelligence that surpasses most humans and are vital to not only the ocean's well-being and balance but our own as well. I've listed a website "Care 2" that has some wonderful petitions and information about whales. Just type in "Whales" in the search-box on the petition site for the latest petitions.  Please at least take a look at the information and when praying and blessing the waters for healing, include the whales and all other creatures of our waters that are suffering and need all the help they can get. By the way, today is "World's Ocean's Day" and I couldn't think of a better post to honor the oceans.

Farewell to Tarwathie
Adieu Mormond Hill
And the dear land of Crimmond
I bid you farewell
I'm bound off for Greenland
And ready to sail
In hopes to find riches
In hunting the whale

YouTube - Whale Wars Music Video
- Watch more Music Videos at Vodpod.