“Sometimes we are lucky enough to know that our lives have been changed, to discard the old, embrace the new, and run headlong down an immutable course. It happened to me … on that summer’s day, when my eyes were opened to the sea.”

— Jacques Yves Cousteau,
Oceanographer

Kutipan di atas dari seorang oceanografer asal Perancis itu rasanya paling mewakili persepsi saya tentang laut. Laut yang kita lihat secara kasat mata senantiasa biru dan tenang itu mengiringi dinamika manusia. Namun sebaliknya laut bisa hadir dalam drama hidup masyarakat pesisir. Hadir pada sebuah fabel, puisi, atau bahkan sekadar menjadi bagian dari masa liburan anak sekolah di bulan Juni.

Laut yang menjadi bagian dari semesta mengajarkan manusia menjadi bijak dengan cara yang tidak langsung, bisa jadi lewat sifat makhluk hidup di bawah laut, lewat mitos dewa-dewa Yunani seperti Poseidon atau kisah Neptunus dari Romawi, lewat kepercayaan orang pesisir di beberapa bagian Indonesia untuk melakukan larung. Saya belajar lewat hal-hal nyata melalui relasi hal-hal nyata yang dilakukan manusia terhadap laut, dan dampaknya pada lingkungan tempat manusia hidup.

“Sometimes we are lucky enough to know that our lives have been changed, to discard the old, embrace the new, and run headlong down an immutable course. It happened to me… on that summer’s day, when my eyes were opened to the sea.

— Jacques Yves Cousteau,
Oceanographer

We often perceive the sea as blue calm water, a human’s friend. But the sea is the drama of coastal communities, as much as the reward. It is a fable, a poem or a urban school child’s vacation in June.

The sea, that universe, taught me the wisdom of its creatures through tales of gods, Poseidon or Neptune, or beliefs of Indonesian coastal communities when they celebrate Larung Sesaji Ceremony* on the beach. I have learned of the relationship between human actions and the sea, the environment and life itself.

*The Larung Sesaji Ceremony expresses humble appreciation and the grateful prayer to Goddess who shares the abundance of sea riches with sailors, fishermen and their families.