The Loving Ocean
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Marine Issues
    • Plastic Pollution
    • Climate Change
    • Ocean Acidification
    • Coral Bleaching
  • About
  • Contact

Spreading love and light across the sea

Toki has passed away, but her spirit lives in us - Do not forget her message

8/19/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
I will never forget how Toki swam up to me and looked me in the eye when I saw her face to face, the day after we marched for her freedom in 2015. She was truly special.

I would not be here today grieving her loss without her. She inspired me, through learning of how much she endured in her tank, to keep going while battling depression.

I do not feel anger or resentment towards anyone at this time, and I know deep down that Toki would not want us to feel anger and let hatred or vengeance outshine her legacy.

She, by enduring for so long without lashing out at anyone and engaging with those who saw her, taught all of us love and compassion for everyone - those who cared for her included. They are grieving too. I really feel inside that those involved in bringing her home genuinely cared about her. We were too late, but they genuinely cared.

We must come together, learn, and embrace what she taught us - that love and compassion from a single, amazing individual can shine a light brighter than we could possibly imagine. She taught me that these every day acts of love and compassion, of trying to be a light in this dark world, really make a difference.

This is not the end.

Toki lives through us and our actions - every compassionate and loving gesture we make, every time we persevere and endure, every time we use our voice to advocate for those cetaceans still in peril either in captivity or in the wild.

She lives in us.

This is not the end.

Do not give up or linger in despair.

Though not the way I had envisioned, she has finally broken through the clouds. Her light still shines on. Remember her with every action you take. Do not hate. It was not in her nature.

I will never stop fighting for the oceans or marine life.

I will never forget my purpose or abandon love and compassion.
​
We all must not forget what she has taught us.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    AUTHOR

    Zach Affolter is a passionate aspiring marine biologist and animal/environmental advocate.

    ​In 2019, he graduated from Humboldt State University (HSU) with a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology and a minor in Oceanography. Throughout his studies, he worked as the Resident Sustainability Adviser within HSU's Housing and Residence Life. In this position, he educated and inspired residents on campus about sustainability and environmental issues by hosting events, writing newsletters, creating bulletin boards, and various other means. 


    Before his pursuit of a degree, Zach remained active in fighting for animal rights. He petitioned his school board to remove field trips from SeaWorld in place of ones that didn't involve holding cetaceans in captivity. He also worked on Peta2's Youth Advisory Board, wrote a blog on the site For All The Animals, served as a Youth Ambassador for Earthrace and Dolphin Project, and helped to organize the Miracle March for Lolita in 2015. 

    ​Additionally, he volunteered with Earthrace and Pretoma to protect sea turtle eggs from poachers. In 2013, he also worked in the Youth Conservation Corp at Yosemite National Park to maintain trails and restore natural habitat. Throughout all of these endeavors, he continually created videos, articles, and short stories about animal and environmental rights.

    Categories

    All
    Breaking Dawn
    Climate Change
    Conservation
    Current Issues
    Dolphins
    Orca
    Poems
    Salmon
    SeaWorld
    Taiji
    Tides Of Change
    Toki/Lolita
    Tributes
    Video Release

    Archives

    July 2023
    April 2023
    August 2019
    January 2019
    January 2018
    December 2017

    RSS Feed

      Stay updated!

    Subscribe to Newsletter
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Marine Issues
    • Plastic Pollution
    • Climate Change
    • Ocean Acidification
    • Coral Bleaching
  • About
  • Contact