Between Dualities, Dreams and Sharks.
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""Without sharks, there will be no dreams; without sharks, you won't get far, and a world full of questions is better than one of ignorance where we know everything."
"Someday we'll meet again and talk about all the times we were wrong. Because the times we were right left no questions left to discuss."
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Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra, explorer and documentary filmmaker.
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Gray whale eye - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
"I have no doubt that we live in a world built on dualities, or rather than just dualities, thousands of opinions and different ways of things existing."
Almost everything good has a downside, and almost everything bad has more than a couple of good points. But something I'm absolutely certain of is that I'm full of questions... Ironic, isn't it? These questions aren't always the most insightful, and even though I claim to know everything I'm talking about, I know there's a lot, or even twice as much, that I don't know, and that's simply why it doesn't come to mind—because I don't know it. I can also tell you that I know a great deal about all that I don't know, and I'm a pro at questioning what I think I don't know. The rhetoric in all this is quite curious to me, because for some I may have said a lot, for others enough, and for others nothing at all. So, what's my point with all this?
Sharks of different species - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
Today I woke up with a feeling of ambiguity, somewhere between the world of dreams and the real world. It's quite strange how we think when we're in that state. Inside me was a mixture of thoughts and feelings. I have to admit that the urge to write is what almost always wakes me up; sometimes I even dream what I want to write. My awakening felt ambiguous because, between the world of dreams and this one, I could think about wanting to write about the beauty of an encounter I had with a whale when I visited Magdalena Bay. In my dream, I observed it and slowly approached the whale's eye, just as it had happened in the waking world: large, round, a color somewhere between blue and a matte gray. But it was a matte color that allowed the reflection of things, allowed the reflection of myself.
Whale shark - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
Looking at myself through the eye of this whale, I realized that what I saw wasn't me, but rather a representation of my life through different thoughts, figures, and ideas that all together create me. It's incredible how in the world of dreams we can break the barriers of physics and everything we know; we can find simple answers to the most complex questions about life. In this modern world, we have devalued the power and importance of dreams in our lives, and dreams feel real because they truly are real. Naive is the one who no longer listens to them or who has trained themselves to ignore and forget them upon waking. Naive is the one who doesn't use this tool to continue building day by day; naive is the one who thinks they are just a fantasy. Among so many things I saw, I knew immediately that this story would no longer be about that whale, which I will undoubtedly have to return to write about, because although that story is very beautiful and connected to the universe I felt, this other branch where the story departs in the world of dreams is one that leaves me with a thousand questions in my head, which by themselves, the questions answer many feelings for me.
Nurse Shark - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
As I embarked on this journey to explore the oceans, nature, and the animals that inhabit them, I realized there was so much more than what my eyes could see. The stories of all the people I've met, the individuals I've interviewed, the jokes shared by the various friends I've made along this exploration, and that entire world of the sea that exists only in words and thoughts—these are what truly constitute the ocean. It's not just the different shades of blue and the abyssal depths, it's not just the species and their behaviors, it's not just the perfect scientific description, and it's not just what we can observe and measure. The sea is the experiences of everyone around this body of water. The sea is the happiness it brings to people, the sea is the immense sadness and all the salty tears of those who have suffered alongside it, because of it, or with it. The sea is the good and the bad of everyone, the sweat of effort, the tears of joy, and the weeping of sorrow. The sea is where we come from, what gives life to the entire planet, the source of the oxygen we breathe. The sea is everywhere, even if we don't see it up close, but you can feel it even at the top of the highest peak in the world. The sea is all around us.
Bull Sharks and Hammerhead Sharks - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
Many of my fondest memories and most beautiful sights have been near the sea. Encounters with the species that inhabit it are among the things I most enjoy talking about, because every encounter with each animal is always special, and each individual, even if of the same species, retains a unique personality.
Suddenly, this jumble of figures, thoughts, and ideas that had revealed almost my entire life in seconds—as if I were seeing my whole life reflected in the eye of a whale—transformed into the image of a shark. This shark was swimming in the opposite direction from me, and although I tried to get closer to see it from the side, every time I was about to reach it, it would turn around and pull ahead again. Its tail moved gently from side to side; each stroke awakened memories of different encounters with animals of this species. Moments when being face to face with this animal filled me with empathy, for this predator has taught me one of the greatest lessons: that, despite your strength, power, or fame, always be fair, always be objective and impartial.
Great White Shark - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
The shark doesn't roam the ocean killing and eating everything in sight; it only takes what it needs. And when it sees humans, it's not a killing machine; it simply observes us with curiosity and then ignores us, because we don't belong in its food chain. It doesn't exist in its nature to do good or evil; it only exists in its nature to fulfill its role in the cycle of life. Something we humans, no matter how intelligent we think we are, still don't know what the hell we're doing here. We live desperately trying to survive and desperately trying to make sense of it all. I still firmly maintain that, even though we can build spaceships, live under complex governments, work, and have created the computer, we are still the stupidest species on the planet. We've created all of this because we are stupid and we need to believe we aren't; we need to feel productive. Naive is he who believes he must impress someone, naive is he who believes he must be someone outstanding in society, naive is he who wants more than he already has, naive is he who destroys to build, naive is he who turns what is necessary and the most basic resources into dazzling projects that will only satisfy the need for consumerism.
Bull sharks in Playa del Carmen - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
Naive is the one who doesn't deconstruct themselves to live in harmony with what is, because nothing you build or do outside of yourself will truly change the planet. The only thing that will truly mark a real change, the only thing that will truly make you wiser and more useful, is for you to build and change yourself from within. And many will say that I say this from a place of privilege, and they may not be wrong, but having said that, I tell you the following. I have over 100 friends who are millionaires and rich in spirit, over 100 friends who are millionaires and comfortably complacent, over 100 friends who are millionaires and poor in spirit, over 100 friends whose financial situation I'm not sure about, but who are rich in spirit, over 100 friends whose financial situation I'm not sure about, but who are comfortably complacent, over 100 friends whose financial situation I'm not sure about, but who are poor in spirit, over 100 friends who live paycheck to paycheck and are rich in spirit, over 100 friends who live paycheck to paycheck and are comfortably complacent, and over 100 friends who live paycheck to paycheck and are poor in spirit. What does it truly mean to be privileged? My "rich" friends always turn out to be the poorest, and my "poor" friends always turn out to be the richest, and vice versa. Naive is he who judges believing he knows.
Giant blankets - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
The shark is a species that, despite our knowledge of its immense importance to the oceans, continues to be fished in staggering numbers. It's a species that could represent the entire health of the ocean. On my various trips around the coasts, I observed that everyone fishes for sharks, and while the biggest problem remains industrial fishing, sharks are a species traded at every level. They are caught in coastal fishing, sport fishing, trawling, industrial fishing, hook and line fishing, and net fishing. Basically, everyone fishes for sharks. There is a huge demand for their fins, their meat, and their oil. They are used in countless medical products and for countless "magical" purposes. And I dare to say this even though many conservationists, fishermen, or the general public may judge me. Why do we continue to fish this species if we already know what it represents, if we already know that when there aren't enough sharks in the ocean, everything else will disappear and die? I know that many fish for it because they live day to day, and that is because many consume it because they have too many days.
Dead Shark - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
I can't help but recall the images of those sharks, caught and tossed onto the seashore or lying sunken on the beaches. The feeling that overwhelms me when I witness such a vital species being traded on such a brutal scale is profoundly disheartening. It's not that I underestimate the importance of other animal life, but sharks play a crucial role in the food chain. They are the guardians of the overall health of the ocean; removing them from that chain leads to a rapid collapse of the entire marine ecosystem.
It is undeniable that we must consider the well-being of all species, as none should suffer. Large-scale production, lacking any sense of sustainability, confronts us with a harsh reality. I am not advocating for complete abstinence from meat or conversion to veganism, but perhaps we should consider the possibility that vegans may possess the simplest solution to counteract this disease of consumerism that we ourselves have fostered.
Shark fetus - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
The most accessible way to combat this scourge is through veganism, although ideally we should aspire to live more harmoniously and naturally. Those who choose to consume meat should do so from sources that guarantee these animals have completed their life cycle, living dignified lives and being slaughtered humanely, without suffering. All human beings should honor life, living it in accordance with the principles of kindness and respect for all living beings.
As they mention in a movie I recently saw, and which you've probably seen too, "You will have permission to eat me" when my role on this planet is over. However, reaching that point will require us to save ourselves by saving the ocean, preserving its biodiversity, and restoring its natural balance.
Dead Sharks - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
We are all part of the same vicious cycle, and no one is worse than another; we are the embodiment of all that evil together. And for everyone, fishing for, consuming, or turning sharks into medicine seems like a necessity; for everyone, it's something that solves the immediate and the immediate problem. But it remains an illusion, because for every medical issue there are other alternatives, for every economic hardship there are other sources of income, and for every consumer desire there are other consumables.
What is a reality for everyone, and one from which we cannot escape, is that without sharks there will be no life in the ocean, and without life in the ocean there will be no life on Earth, and without life on Earth we will no longer exist. And without us, nothing will exist, for we are the universe witnessing itself. Wherever you are, whatever you have, you are nothing and nobody if we are not all of us. So, whether you are a fisherman, an office worker, a city entrepreneur, a service provider of any kind, an investor, a millionaire, or an astronaut trying to reach another planet, let me tell you this:
"Without sharks, there will be no dreams; without sharks, you won't get far, and a world full of questions is better than one of ignorance where we know everything."
"Someday we'll meet again and talk about all the times we were wrong. Because the times we were right left no questions left to discuss."
Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra