JourneyTalks Podcast

Luca's Journey: From Florida Keys to Everglades Advocacy

Jorge Gonzalez Season 2 Episode 5

What if moments of gratitude in nature could ignite a passion for conservation? Join us as we explore this intriguing idea with Luca Martinez, an inspiring nature and wildlife photographer whose work shines a light on the environmental challenges facing the Everglades. Luca's journey, which began with childhood adventures in the Florida Keys, reveals how a deep connection to nature can fuel a mission to protect our planet. Through his lens, we see the beauty and struggles of natural habitats and the urgent need for conservation. This episode promises to enrich your understanding of how gratitude can become a powerful advocate for change.

As we celebrate the mentors who've shaped us, we reflect on the invaluable role of supportive communities in nurturing personal growth and confidence.  These influences highlight the profound impact that mentorship and encouragement can have on one's journey towards conservation and advocacy. 

The exploration of gratitude and kindness through photography and personal growth takes us deeper into the spiritual connections found in nature. Luca and I discuss how solitude and self-awareness, inspired by the constancy of nature, provide clarity amidst life's chaos. Embracing self-love and spirituality through grounding practices reveals the interconnectedness of life, reminding us that we borrow this land from future generations. This heartfelt dialogue leaves us with the conviction that by staying true to ourselves, we can inspire change and foster a better world for those who come after us.


Speaker 1:

The Journey Talks Podcast, your favorite podcast to reconnect with gratitude and inspiration, hosted by Jorge Gonzalez. Hello and welcome to Journey Talks Podcast, your favorite podcast to reconnect with gratitude and inspiration. My name is Jorge Gonzalez and I am your host. I am convinced that behind every gratitude, there's a powerful story waiting to be told and, through this podcast, my hope is that we can share these stories and create a space where we can celebrate the beauty of our shared humanity. I am convinced that behind every gratitude, there's a powerful story, and this space is precisely for that to share those stories. That allows us to recognize that, at the end of the day, we share something very, very special, and that is our human experience. So, as humans, we share one thing in common, and it's the experience of being alive. We meet people along the way. Some of these people stay with us for a short period of time and others stay with us for a little longer. Who are the people? What were the situations, the stories that transform us into the person that we are today? This podcast is all about stories of gratitude and my hope is that, as we share these stories, we can connect and realize that the beauty of the gift of life.

Speaker 1:

Through this podcast, I'll be interviewing people and in this case, I have a very, very special, special guest. I have been looking forward to this interview for a very long time. I've worked in the world of education for the past 10 years and one of the greatest joys that I have as a school chaplain and as a spiritual formation educator is to see your students grow and become amazing individuals. Today's guest is a former student of mine who is using his gifts, his skills and interests to make our world a better place. He's a nature and wildlife photographer and a videographer who, at a very young age, has tapped on something very special and powerful. With a camera in hand, our guest has the ability to lead us into places where our minds, our hearts and our souls can connect with our surroundings in new ways and we get to see in ourselves the connection and relation we have as sentient beings with our planet and with one another.

Speaker 1:

His work is centered around raising awareness and the protection of the Everglades in South Florida, but in all nature, in my opinion, he embodies the definition of a true conservationist and what a conservationist is. He's been featured on several magazines, tv shows and news like NBC, oceana Graphic Magazine and has collaborated with National Geographic and UNESCO, to name a few. As part of his career, he is a speaker presenting at schools, colleges and other public events, raising awareness on the importance and the protection of the Everglades. I am beyond humble and excited and thrilled to introduce you to no other than Luca Martinez. Luca, how are you, man I'm doing?

Speaker 1:

really good it's so good to see you, man. Thank you for being here.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, no, no, no. It's really motivating and humbling to have me on, so thank you so much.

Speaker 1:

The honor is mine. I'm beyond humble and I'm thrilled that we get to do this. How are you? What's going on with you lately?

Speaker 2:

I'm doing really about the mission. I'm doing Really about the power that youth voices have in the space of conservation and explaining that to students and presenting my work. So that's what I've been doing and it's been wonderful.

Speaker 1:

And so, for the people that perhaps are getting to know you through this platform, tell them a little bit about who you are and what you do.

Speaker 2:

So I've been photographing and it's turned into more filmmaking wildlife for my whole life. I grew up going to the Keys every weekend and that's really where the connection started and that ended up taking me out long story short to the Everglades and my first morning out there. I was hooked, but that developed over time. It became showing people the beauty, focusing on the beauty, until realizing this place, giving me life, is dying. And I need to show that because beyond this beautiful facade, beyond the crystal clear water and the cypress domes and the sawgrass, lies a real story that we're trading wildlife for development and that water's not flowing right and that it's a silent death that's literally right next to us and sustaining our life but goes unseen. So it became my mission to show that and tell that story.

Speaker 1:

Powerful. I've been instructed with the fact that your courage, in my opinion, as a former teacher of yours and someone that was a part of your education, is to see how you're using your gifts in the prophetic way. Prophetic by that what I mean is you're bringing attention to something that we have to give attention to. It's very easy for us to ignore. We go about our lives, but you, for whatever reason, you have this inner commitment. You listen to a part of you that is calling you to focus on this and, in my opinion, in my book, I think that's admirable, Thank you. I think the fact that at such a young age and I don't mean that in a disrespectful way or being condescending, On the contrary amazing the fact that at your young age, you have such a clear understanding of how you can use your gifts and your experiences to bring attention to something that is so crucial.

Speaker 2:

Thank you.

Speaker 1:

Like I said, this podcast is all about sharing stories of gratitude, but the gratitude that comes as a result of moments of growth and transformation in our life, and so I'm convinced that your story is beyond powerful. All right, and I'll be so honored if you could open your heart and your mind to share that story with me and our audience. Are you down for it?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, no, it's. Gratitude isn't the core of what I do.

Speaker 1:

Perfect, let's do it. So what is gratitude for you and what is your relationship with gratitude?

Speaker 2:

For me I mean I could say as someone who's in the conservation space and in capturing wildlife in that world that is gratitude. You can't photograph and go out into nature without that. For me, gratitude are those moments that I can be out and I can sit and I can watch. It's those moments of stillness, regardless of what's going on here in the city. You're still going to drive out an hour because what we have bordering our city is beautiful. But it takes gratitude and it takes that perspective to see it, because the best views aren't off the road. You have to get in it. But for me, gratitude is what I do. It's picking up the camera and capturing the morning light on the Great Blue Heron or on the cypress domes. It's watching as, over the months, the water's dropping. That is what I'm thankful for, you know, and that is what I capture. And without a sense of gratitude I wouldn't be able to evoke the emotion I feel when I'm out there.

Speaker 1:

There are two things that caught my attention from what you said is perspective and your connection with stillness, because I've heard that a few times on the podcast. Yeah, Talk about gratitude.

Speaker 1:

It's a mindset. Gratitude is a place in my heart that I can tap into, and you brought it up. I think the connection with perspective is crucial, and so tell me more about that first time that you either listened to something within your heart or in your mind and you said you know what? I'm going to go to the Everglades and I'm going to go with my camera and see what happens. How was that moment?

Speaker 2:

I think it's the reason that I get motivated to explore different things, like, in the beginning, the Everglades it always comes from a sense of exploration. It's always been in me. I was snorkeling before I could walk in the Florida Keys. That was my life. The thing that inspired me to go out into the glades is I would continually watch these ospreys dive, but then I asked the question where are these ospreys from? Where can I see more of them? Where are these animals from? Where's this wild heart in this place that I live without buildings? And that ended up taking me out to the Everglades. And then COVID came, and then I had the opportunity to start going out mornings and nights, before school, after school, sometimes during my online class, and that's where the connection with the Glades really started. But it was that exploration for something more wild that took me to one of the most unique wild places in the world.

Speaker 1:

What you've done is remarkable. Like I love those initial reels on social media on. Instagram, where you submerge yourself, is that you're out, you're out on the surface and all of a sudden, you, you're inviting people under the water. And it's just fascinating because it's a brand new world. Yeah, it is.

Speaker 2:

And we're completely unaware of it.

Speaker 1:

I love what you said that the best views are inside the Everglades, not off the road.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, well, that's what I started seeing. Imagine I went out there. So my first time exploring off-tra trail was in a cypress dome. I'm talking about these domes a lot, because that was the first place that got me to fall in love with this landscape and I'm out there and it is crystal clear water. The aquatic plants are vibrant and you can see them from above, and you're not taught that that's what the Everglades look like.

Speaker 2:

The fact is that same clear water is the water we're drinking and that's our life you know, so that's what inspired me to start doing that, like, okay, y'all, this is what it looks like out here, but let me take you underwater, and it was a view that I had never seen. You know, that's what was crazy is I'm swimming out there in the glades and I'm thinking no one knows that it looks like this under here.

Speaker 1:

So tell me, what are you most grateful for, Luca?

Speaker 2:

I mean there are so many ways I can answer that question. I think as I get a little bit older, I'm still so young, but as I'm getting older, I think, in reflection, I'm most grateful for the support of my family, my parents. You know, I can't overlook that. That's the reason I'm doing what I'm doing. It's because they completely allowed me to follow whatever it was that I love.

Speaker 1:

What that looks like for you, because I think this is amazing, the fact that you're starting with that, because as a young man I'm not saying that I didn't have the support of my parents it was harder for me to see where their support was, and it's very easy when you're young to feel like you don't have any kind of support. So, what that support looks like for you, how do you think it has built in you either self-confidence or a sense of direction? I'm curious about what and how that support has strengthened you or shaped you.

Speaker 2:

What and how that support has strengthened you or shaped you. I mean anyone whose parents or parent is in support of whatever it is that they like to do. That's where confidence comes from. Whether one week you want to build airplanes when you're older, or the next week an an astronaut, or the next week I wanted to be an underwater explorer, my parents were cheering behind me every week, yeah, and that's where confidence comes from. To follow whatever. It is that week or that month or that year or decade that makes you smile, yeah, that's what it's about.

Speaker 1:

And when you have parents who wholeheartedly believe that and teach that, nothing's more building, yeah, of confidence than that I hope that, whoever is, if any parents are listening to this that have young kids or even teenagers that they can entertain within themselves, how can they pay attention to that? Because, I agree with you, listening to your inner voice takes time and takes practice, but when you have a supporting community or voices around you that can help you understand what that looks like, it's very special. And yes, I've seen it, because I remember meeting your parents and them supporting you in that.

Speaker 1:

I remember yeah, I think I have this clear memory you had like a presentation or something and your parents helped you put it together. They have the right gear and your parents helped you put it together. They have the right gear and your presentation it was child appropriate. They didn't took over, but your parents were backing you up, and when you're young, the affirmation of your parents is crucial. I've seen it.

Speaker 1:

And it's beautiful to see you in this light. It's beautiful to see how calm you are, because there's a calmness and a poise that you have, and I can see why that allows you to really be present when you're out in nature. And that's one thing that I've seen in you and I want to share with you because it's very special I see just an alignment with everything, and that alignment comes because you were, in my opinion, you were exposed to that, you were given that gift, yeah exactly.

Speaker 2:

It comes from the parents. People ask why I like to go out there so much, or why I care so much, or why I care to tell the story. When you love something, you're driven to protect it. You can't teach someone that, but you can raise someone like that, yeah, and you can take them out in the beginning, and then everything else follows. Uh, you know what I mean? That's so powerful. Yes, yeah, absolutely. That's what it's about. And then you don't have to ask the question later on why it's because it's you.

Speaker 1:

It's you all right. So, luca, can you think of someone or remember a situation that now, looking back, you realize you know yourself better because of it?

Speaker 2:

Okay, I'm sure there's so many, of course.

Speaker 1:

But anyone that really stands out.

Speaker 2:

I mean I can speak about someone I recently met, all right, who really changed my perspective on myself and how we all should treat ourselves and others. So Dr Sylvia Earle is the most celebrated marine scientist of our time and I've looked up to her as a hero figure for almost, I mean, as long as I can remember. And she's incredible. She was the first woman to walk the seafloor at 1500 feet. She has 180 publications, 22 honorary degrees, the first female chief scientist at NOAA.

Speaker 2:

This lady is incredible and about three weeks ago I had the chance to meet her, spend the day with her and I had dinner with her. Amazing, and what stood out to me is beyond everything I just told you. This is someone who has watched literally the ocean collapse. I mean, she's been diving Florida longer than my grandpa's been alive, from a place so abundant to a place where 90% of tuna and sharks are gone.

Speaker 2:

Her spirit is one of celebration, more than anyone I've ever met Celebrating that she was here, celebrating that we're under this roof right now speaking to each other about this, celebrating that we can do this, celebrating that we're here in the 21st century and that there are groups of people who really care and, for the first time, are coming together to speak about issues and celebrating that she's alive and that, while those 90% of sharks are gone, 10% are alive. And when you come from a place of gratitude so deep like that, after watching something so horrific your entire life, right, nothing can stop you, right. Turn it around the same way. Those 10 of sharks that are left aren't stopping because 90 of them are gone. They're going to keep on going because that's all the wilderness knows how to do so. Sitting with her and smiling with her taught me so much about how to continue to move forward.

Speaker 1:

That makes me think of the importance of mentors. Yeah, because when I hear you talking about Sylvia, not only you're looking at someone that you look up to and you admire, but you're receiving this beautiful gift of her mentorship, her perspective, and it's expanding your heart and your mind. And it's expanding your heart and your mind and I just tell me more about who have been mentors in your life, or how the wisdom of those voices around you have helped you grow and get to know yourself better.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, my grandpa was huge for me. My grandpa is huge for me. He we would dive the Florida Keys together. That was. That was the guy I was with on his boat.

Speaker 1:

Wello, you call him right Wello.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and we spent a lot of time all I mean all the time together out there, and whether it was in his backyard watching Red Cardinals growing up behind his video camera, or on Pickles Reef in the Florida Keys, he was always laughing and enjoying himself, and that's where I sort of learned, aside from my parents. That's what instilled with me this love and this celebration for nature this wildlife.

Speaker 1:

That's what I learned through him filled with me, this love and this celebration for nature, this wildlife. That's what I learned through him. So a question that I have here for you. It's about what do you feel that you have been able to overcome and to understand of yourself and about your character as a response of these situations, this mentorship, these voices around you that are shaping you?

Speaker 2:

That's a difficult one. I would hope that being out you, that's a difficult one. Um, I would hope that that, being out, being out in the wild a lot and learning about these stories and understanding these stories, I've become and am becoming, and have a long way to go, more resilient. Um, through love, that, through whatever it is, whether it has to do with the Everglades and nature or completely doesn't.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Speaker 2:

It's all sort of the same thing.

Speaker 1:

So you have a quote on your website that I like to share with the audience, and it says the biggest threat to the Everglades is the fact that so many of us are dangerously disconnected from it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Tell me, tell me what inspired that, what's behind that statement, what's behind that realization and breakthrough in you. It Tell me what inspired that, what's behind that statement, what's behind that realization and breakthrough in you.

Speaker 2:

Well, if you go online and you search up threats to the Everglades, you're going to see things that are extremely true. A quarter of the water that used to make it through the system giving it life from the Kissimmee Lakes to Lake Okeechobee, to Florida Bay only a quarter of it makes it out there today. There's tons of mismanagement of water. Only a quarter of it makes it out there today. There's tons of mismanagement of water. 100,000 acres of wild Florida are taken annually for development. There's so many reasons why the Everglades is dying. There's massive tree island loss in the central Everglades because of the near annual flooding that's going on. But despite all those things, 95% in a survey of Miami doesn't know that their water comes from the Everglades. How are we going to begin to speak about addressing issues that require thousands of people's support when no one knows the place?

Speaker 1:

You know what that makes me think of? I visited California a few times and that now that they're at this point of the struggle is when they're taking action. Yeah, you again, in a prophetic way, are trying to bring attention. So it's not that we I mean, it sounds like we still have time to address it we're already in it, but hopefully we're not as far as we could be, and so there's room.

Speaker 2:

Well, that's where the hope comes from is that everyone has their different opinion about Everglades restoration, but the fact of the matter is that the largest restoration undertaking in the history of the planet SERP, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan is happening right now in the Everglades, and there's no more hope than going to DC and you're in a room of every single person that can change this issue and we're all talking, not arguing, but we're talking, talking and and listening, and that's never happened, but it's happening now and it's. It's a massive project, but it is happening. It's about managing the water flow and gate operating systems and how do we bring this as close to natural flow of water through this system to give it life the way it should, while also, you know, protecting the city as salt water intrusion happens and and whatnot you know it's interesting.

Speaker 1:

I think you, in a way, have answered this following question, but I I this. I have to ask you yeah, why do you do what you do? Why photography, why conservation? What keeps you motivated? And is gratitude connected to that in any way?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I would ask how can one not be connected a little bit to the conservation of the last wild pieces we have left when we're living in a city that can't be here without it? Some part of your life, if you can, should be devoted to that. It has to be or else in some way, or else things won't change. But that's what I'm trying to do is I understand everyone's life is so different and there are so many people that just don't have the time with the current way we're doing things to care right. Right, and that is the truth. But if we're all on our phones and you can scroll through a video and for five seconds you can watch something and perhaps sign a petition, or perhaps write an email, or perhaps just connect to that thing, in the future it may change. Um, at least I can get people's eyes through that right.

Speaker 1:

I've learned over the years. Uh, something that has helped me is when you don't know, you don't know, yeah, and it takes someone, it takes an opportunity to be exposed to it, an invitation to all of a sudden shift the mindset, understand, look at it, entertain the question in a different way, and all of a sudden you lean and you give yourself the gift of getting a new perspective.

Speaker 2:

What you just said is so true in conservation. What so many people aren't remembering is that not everyone has every answer. Not every person can fill every role. Conservation requires so many different pieces, the scientific, indigenous wisdom, everything needs to come together. But when one entity thinks that they understand the entire issue, it's not going to work. So that is a perfect way to say it you don't know what you don't know, and that is conservation.

Speaker 1:

Interesting. I love the fact that you bring in that angle because in my experience it has been connected to emotional regulation and getting to know yourself, and my vocabulary would be spirituality, all of those things. But yeah, for me I've understood that there were aspects of my personality or situations that I was clueless about. I was clueless about what energy I was bringing in into the situation or how my reaction to the issue was connected to other things, and so that's where the whole process of when you don't know, you don't know, but once you know, there's a breakthrough and it opens up this new space for dialogue. It opens up a new opportunity for, in my case, or from an emotional, psychological perspective, to grow right, to gain new skills, to go about life, to carry yourself in ways that hopefully are more constructive, to to better relationships or have new initiatives. All of that, yeah, any thoughts on that?

Speaker 2:

It's so interesting the way you're saying that, because it's exactly what people in restoration need to hear Interesting. It's exactly what people need to open their minds to.

Speaker 1:

I think it's fascinating that you have been so involved in those conversations, conversations, and I wonder and maybe you don't have an answer right now, but I'm curious to see, luca, five years from now, seven years from now, as you continue to do what you do and to be a part of this dialogue. How is that going to strengthen your vision and perhaps your purpose? You know so we don't have an answer for it right now. I'll keep an eye on you. Now let me ask you this.

Speaker 2:

I'll probably look back at this and say what were you saying? It's all right, that's part of it too.

Speaker 1:

You know. I think that's great actually to recognize that, yeah, your young years or your youth. I think there's a fervor there that it's needed to go through and to use. But I can see how that will continue to be part of the wisdom, of the knowledge that I will continue to serve you and to guide your path. You know to lighten your path. Serve you and to guide your path. You know to lighten your path. So the next question that I have for you, luca, is this you spend a lot of time in nature. You are in an intentional relationship with nature. In your opinion, what has this beautiful interrelational organism we call nature taught you? What have you learned, in other words, from nature?

Speaker 2:

taught you. What have you learned, in other words, from nature, I mean. One thing that comes to mind is the importance of comfort and solitude, I think having the time on my own, being able to be out there and listen to myself, loving my own company. You don't leave that out there. It doesn't stay out on the trail or in the water. It comes back with you at home tell me.

Speaker 1:

Tell me about, because I I feel like you're. This is going to the place, what that I call spirituality, which is being with yourself yeah learning to be at peace with your inner voice and with who you are. What happens to luca when you're there? Is it? Is it just recharging your batteries, is it?

Speaker 2:

clarity is what's happening. When you are there, you know it's immense gratitude and, regardless of what at the time I'm struggling with or regardless about what's hurting me or what I may be dealing with, when you give yourself a chance to sit with something the way it's always been, something that hasn't changed or that's very much changing in a wild way, and gratitude comes in, everything else fades. I mean, when you feel that gratitude, it's impossible to have any sort of hate for anything you can't. And for me, understanding a world unchanged like the Everglades, that's what's kept me grounded in this takeout world we live in.

Speaker 1:

Amazing. It's funny because you started talking about struggles of life and my question to you now is how do you handle fear, how do you handle anxiety and in what ways you find yourself noticing how either fear or anxiety immobilize you or keep you stuck, and how do you address that in your life?

Speaker 2:

addressed that in your life.

Speaker 2:

I think one of the things that keeps me the most grounded, whether I'm feeling anxious about something or fearing something, one of the joys of what I do is when I go out there.

Speaker 2:

The way I'm connecting with the place is through the camera. It's through filming it, but in an odd way, more than for myself, what keeps me going and what keeps me through that is the idea that I'm about to film something. It's any filmmaker or creator would say this and I'm going to go home and I'm going to put something together really comprehensive that reflects the exact way that I feel when I'm out there and so many people are going to be able to listen to that. And they are just watching a video with music that they may like or not like, and hearing bird sounds that I have heard, but to me, I know that millions of people just felt what I felt for one second or 20. And there's something that's addicting in that. That's why I do what I do. Yeah, everyone's just trying to be heard in some sort of way, right, whether it's through their art or their music or whatever.

Speaker 1:

For me, it's in those edits that you see, or, uh, more comprehensive videos that you watch. I I just think it's fascinating because I've noticed how can I say this?

Speaker 1:

the world that we live in today is quick constantly you said it a hundred, like 10 times, 15, 20 seconds of your attention, boom. Yeah, that's the pace that we're living in, and so I think it's great that, through your platform and through your skills and through your gifts, people have this opportunity to just all of a sudden, take a moment and pause and understand the fact that we are in relationship with mother nature, with gaia, with earth, and not only with with nature, but we are relationship with each other yeah and I think part of the goal of this platform and this podcast is to create a space where we can notice that when we pay attention to those moments, we gain something really special.

Speaker 1:

Life can become more meaningful and, honestly, that's why I asked you the question about fear and anxiety, because when I grew up, the word anxiety didn't exist and it took me years to understand and, more importantly, I have to acknowledge, to understand what anxiety is and how it affects other people. No-transcript make sense.

Speaker 2:

No, yeah, I think this is far-fetched. No, no, no, I think. No, I think at the core of it, um, it's cliche, but it's kindness. That's all it is. How do you, how do you get someone to care, or how do you connect with someone, or how do you make someone or yourself feel better? It's about being kind.

Speaker 1:

I love that you're bringing that up, because for me, yes, kindness, but in my mind immediately I'm like, okay, what's happening in our bodies and in our minds when we describe kindness? Yeah, you know what part of ourselves are we tapping into or connecting to? That helps us see life in that connection. It leaves room for comprehension and for compassion, yeah, and so, yeah, yeah, I mean it's, it's to me.

Speaker 2:

The reason I bring this up is because it's not something that I just randomly think of. That's not the way I speak. I'm thinking about things people have told me Like the best people that I've met in my life, whether it's a family member or a hero that I've looked up to for my entire life what they all have, the people I most admire is that, beyond all of their experiences at least in my experience they treated me and their message is to treat people and animals with kindness and to treat each individual person you meet and animals with dignity. Right, and we often forget that and it's, yeah, it's sad. You know, that is what it is to be human, but sometimes it takes an entire, an entire life to come around to that. I know, no, um, you're right, and I'm still coming around to that. I'm not we all. I'm talking like, like I, like I really know how to.

Speaker 1:

No, I don't you know, we're still learning yeah, we have our, we have our you know moments of understanding the moments we drop the ball. Exactly, it's a dance, right? Exactly yeah, so life is full of ups and downs, as we talked about, and our brains are always processing the phenomenon around us, allowing us, in our consciousness, to continue to grow and to expand. Right over the years, I have come to a place where I recognize that I need to develop a healthy relationship with myself that includes my thoughts, experiences, feelings and goals. I call this process self-love and spirituality. I call it spirituality as well.

Speaker 1:

Whether that is working out for me or going for a walk, reading a book, meditating, I have found certain practices that allow me to go through this human experience in ways that continue to provide me with meaning, purpose and joy. Do you have any grounding practices for yourself, and how have you accessed self-love in moments of need?

Speaker 2:

I think I'm probably still learning about what I can do on a daily basis to ground myself away from going out to the wilderness. What I can say is something that I do that grounds me often is when I speak to students and when you have the moment with these younger kids sometimes the youngest among us are the most inspiring by far and you have a lot to learn from that mind. But when I can share what I love and then listen to what these students at these schools I go to love and how they think about what I'm doing and the questions they ask, simple questions like why doesn't everyone in Florida want to protect the Everglades and why did they build those homes there? If they knew what was in there, maybe you should ask that question to them. But when I leave schools, especially with the younger kids, I feel overwhelmingly grounded and motivated and that's helped me, yeah yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

I'm sure. Obviously you do what you do because of that In a way, yes, In a way. Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and it's interesting because when you said about being with the students, I've seen you doing that. Yeah, I've seen you in your magic and in your power, and it's true. Yeah, and in your power, and it's true. I relate a little bit to what you're saying because prior to being in education, I was a worship leader and I've had the chance to be in front of people in certain different capacities, and it's true, basically, you're channeling your energy. You're channeling something really special.

Speaker 1:

And you realize that you're becoming an instrument of something really powerful. We have to learn to separate the ego which it's there, but when it's the right time, when everything is aligning, you realize that it's not just you, you're just. It's a very sacred moment where, for example, perhaps in your case, these young children are being exposed and may perhaps introduced to new synapses right and so it's clicking in them and now they have a new awareness that they can operate from, you know.

Speaker 1:

And so it just creates, it generates more goodness, it generates more positivity. You're just allowing the beauty of consciousness, of light, of wisdom to continue to be alive, and that's very humbling. I think it's very humbling, it's powerful, and I've seen you. I've seen you. It's powerful and I love and I hope that life and universe, god, whatever you want to call it, continue to provide you with those opportunities. Thank you, because you do have something very, very special.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much.

Speaker 1:

How do you open yourself to the wisdom of the journey?

Speaker 2:

By allowing it to take form, however it does, you know, I guess I mean really it's about recognizing when I go out into like a slew, it's recognizing that, first of all, something's going to happen, different every time, but when you turn a corner or when you come around a tree, there are going to be 10,000 things that you'll never understand, thousands of things that you'll never know. A sense of not trying to learn, obviously not in every way, but in those types of ways, not trying to understand what's going to happen next and learn what's happening next. Not to take out my phone and check the weather that morning in the slew I'm going out anyways. Let me not have that in my mind and enjoy whatever's going to happen. So it's that it's allowing myself to be open to what's to come.

Speaker 1:

That reminds me, luca. There's a spiritual leader. His name is Randaz and his most well-known quote is be here now. Yeah, Be here now, and I think honestly in what you do. That's what you do. Think honestly in what you do, you, that's what you do. Yeah, I mean to be able to, to have your camera, whether it's taking pictures or videos, you're there and you're trying to capture.

Speaker 1:

You've said several times throughout the interview the fact that you can capture a moment.

Speaker 1:

It's, it allows you to experience the gift of life, yeah, and the gift of life and the gift of consciousness, and the gift of nature, and the gift of seeing that you're in relationship with this thing that we call life and nature and trees and organisms, and you're alive and your body's working for you, your mind is working for you, you can breathe, you can smell, you can hear, you can see.

Speaker 1:

I mean, we take it for granted, yeah, but there's beauty and wisdom speaking to us at all times, at all times, and I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving yourself the permission to be true to yourself and to share those gifts with the world, because already you're making a phenomenal and amazing impact and I just can't wait to see what you're going to continue to do. Thank you, yeah, yeah, yeah. So in closing, I always like to ask our guest what is a special quote or figure that has inspired you lately? You've talked about Sylvia and different people that you've met, but is there anything that stands out when I ask this question?

Speaker 2:

A quote or a person. Well, there's a quote that I always say in my talks and I love it. I don't know who said it, it's kind of like unknown, I think I heard, and it says we do not inherit this land from our ancestors. We borrow it from our children. I think it's a beautiful way to understand that, like you know, let's, however, we can help protect what we have, whether it's your backyard or a massive Everglades. Just let your kids and your grandkids and their grandkids can experience it, because the reality is it can, it can be lost, but let's not allow it to be lost.

Speaker 2:

You know, and I think, a person I'm currently working with a friend of mine, tori Linder, and she was the impact producer of Path of the Panther and the driving force behind passing the Florida Wildlife Corridor Millions of acres to be protected of this land that now spans from southern tip of Florida to the north, so that these animals have a way to travel up and down the state. It's an incredible, incredible thing that no one thought could happen, that people had been trying for 100 years and she's a large reason that that happened. And she man she could spend the entire day talking about herself she really could about all the successes, but she doesn't, and she has a lot to say and it's been amazing working with her and learning from her. So that's been someone who's been like a mentor the past few months and I'm really thankful for her guidance.

Speaker 1:

Perfect. So those people listening to us are watching this. Tori Linder yeah, check her out. Check her out. Yep. So I always like to ask our guests who they think should be a future guest on the podcast. So, in your opinion, who could be a future guest here on Journey Talks podcast?

Speaker 2:

Oh, I want to hear Tori's journey. I'm going back to Tori.

Speaker 1:

You're going to have to help me put that together.

Speaker 2:

I want to hear where I know a bit, but I want to really hear how she would answer those questions. So I think Tori is someone we could all learn from and what I admire is she has every opportunity to be super successful in whatever way you define that. But she really is mission and passion driven and if the mission isn't right and the answer is not right, Tori won't be on the project. So I would love to hear her answers.

Speaker 1:

Luca to say thank you, it doesn't match up to my gratitude for this conversation. Thank you for asking me all those questions, my goodness. No, I'm so glad, I am so proud of you. Your parents have done a phenomenal job raising you, and you've been very fortunate to have wonderful mentors around your life, not only because I was a part of your life as an educator.

Speaker 1:

But it's beautiful because there's so many of us that have seen you become who you are and our hearts are full man. Our hearts are full of joy and gratitude and it's just beautiful to see it. I look forward to having you again in the future if we can Same, and to keep up with your endeavors, thank you. Thank you for being with me, all right, thank you. This has been another episode of Journey Talks podcast, your favorite podcast to reconnect with gratitude and inspiration. I look forward to connecting with you on the next episode. Thank you and take care. Thank you for watching. Make sure you like and subscribe to our channel, share your feedback, hit that notification bell and let's keep the conversation going.