“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Sometimes when we hear the word, “Explore,” we imagine lacing up our hiking shoes and heading out on a trail, or grabbing our passports and heading for the airport.
These are two wonderful ways to explore, but there are endless ways.
During episode 34: Shark Week, the sirens challenged ourselves to explore the topic of sharks by learning more about them. We also challenged ourselves to spread awareness of sharks through art.
Why learn more about sharks?
“Almost all fear is fear of the unknown. Therefore, what’s the remedy? To become acquainted with the things you fear.”
Peace Pilgrim
If you haven’t heard of a MOOC…take a second to do a quick Google search…we’ll wait here.
A MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course. There are lots of online classes about almost any topic you could choose – and a lot of them are free.
This means you can explore from the comfort of your own home! Stretch your mind! Exercise your brain. Get out there and find something new to learn…you never know what doors might open for you.
If you can’t think of something you want to learn about…let us suggest…
…SHARKS!
Here are a couple good options:
SHARKS! Cornell University and University of Queensland via edX
Sharks – The Ultimate Guide: Everything You Need to Know About Sharks
And what kind of art did the Sirens create to help spread shark awareness? Check these out (you can also search Facebook for #SirenSoapbox):
Siren TC (orange tail): “How are you celebrating Shark Week? How about some painted shark rocks? Where shall I hide them? I also dressed for the day! “Don’t Fear the Fin” shirt and shark earrings!”
Siren Sara (light orange tail): “Shaking up people’s perceptions of sharks!!! Check out our latest podcast episode!”
Guest Siren Megan (yellow tail): “Fear is a learned behavior, and we can unlearn so much through better education and understanding. I hope everyone enjoyed Shark Week and learned a thing or two about these magnificent and beautiful creatures of the sea. Sharks are critical to the balance of the underwater ecosystem. If I feared sharks, I would have missed out on this amazing encounter, being circled by a couple of Caribbean Reef sharks just a few feet away. That’s how I celebrated shark week.”
Siren LC (aqua tail): “Happy Shark Week!!! Made this in procreate to celebrate and tonight we are interviewing a special guest on Siren Soapbox!!!”
Siren Jess (purple tail): “Happy Shark Week! I’ve been sharing tips at work to celebrate!”
Siren Mur (red tail): “To celebrate Shark Week, I setup a collaborative art project at work and listed out a new shark fact each day. It was a fun way to spread good shark news. How have you celebrated Shark Week?”
There must be something you’d love to learn about…something you’d like to explore. Comment below and tell us about it!