I came across this amazing video about dolphins a while back and have been meaning to share it with you. To me it represented what is whole and sacred in our world, those which we all have so much to learn from and who we still know very little about. Yesterday I came across the news of the mass killings of dolphins off the coast of Taiji in Japon as part of a seasonal slaughter of dolphins both as meat and as a way to reduce overeating of fish by the dolphins. I was contemplating whether or not to combine the two trains of thoughts. This video is so empowering and beautiful yet this latest story is so tragic and sad. Needless to say I decided that these two threads must go hand in hand if truly we are to chance our consciousness around these magnificent beings.

First, the good: If you only have a cursory understanding of dolphins then this video will blow your mind. This video depicts the amazing capabilities of dolphins, from their ability to clearly communicate with humans through language and art, to their ability to help children recover from paralysis due to strokes. What really blew my mind was seeing the amazing hydrodynamic capabilities of dolphins exemplified by how they blow these bubble-rings (it’s worth waiting through most of the video to see this). This capability showed me how we humans have much to learn from these dolphins. I am reminded of the work by Janine Benyus around biomimicry and how we can harness the intelligence of all beings(plants, animals, minerals, etc.) in nature to create new products. After watching this video, I can’t help but believe and trust that we have teachers in Dolphins.

Now the ugly: This latest news out of Jaiji Japan is another chapter in the already wagging battle with Japan over Whaling. Today many westerners are in Taiji to help halt/curb the killing of thousand of dolphins. I’ve included the link to the CNN article out Feb. 11,2008 with a link to the video of what is happening at Taiji(I have to warn you that it is both graphic and saddening). Here is where consciousness of the past (alive with this particular group of Japanese fishermen) and the consciousness of the now are going head to head. Who is right in this argument? The Japanese claim that they have been doing this for 400 years. From the video it is at least clear that the dolphins are not being killed humanely, which is how any animal that is being killed in the name of food must be treated.

Now the questions: If dolphins were killed humanely(ie. for food) does that make it right? should dolphins as a species be killed for food? Positive videos like the one attached and the negative ones can be instructive and give us the mental paradigm, but at the end of the day the heart knows if it right or wrong. Clearly this is an issue that is ripe for re-evaluation and a shift in consciousness. Sitting with these two ideas/concepts, one of light and the other of darkness, and by shifting and ever modifying our perspective can we begin to bring about the necessary change within ourselves. The change necessary to work towards true preservation of our oceans for the animals that call it home or perhaps the change necessary to finally pay a fraction more for dolphin safe tuna at the supermarket.

See the CNN LINK to the Dolphin video here.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 at 9:06 pm and is filed under environment, food supply, politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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