WORLD OCEANS DAY

Honoring the ocean, reconnecting with ourselves

WORLD OCEANS DAY

Honoring the ocean, reconnecting with ourselves

For World Oceans Day, we’re shining a light on someone who shares our love for the water—and sees it as a source of healing, connection, and growth. Nick Sharp is a nature therapist and founder of This is Water, an organization that helps people reconnect with themselves through therapeutic, water-centered adventures. Nick explores how the ocean supports our well-being and why that connection is so important to protect.

At Native Shoes, we’ve always felt our best by the water, so we were excited to sit down with Nick and hear his perspective on how we can all slow down, pay attention, and deepen our relationship with water—wherever we are.

For World Oceans Day, we’re shining a light on someone who shares our love for the water—and sees it as a source of healing, connection, and growth. Nick Sharp is a nature therapist and founder of This is Water, an organization that helps people reconnect with themselves through therapeutic, water-centered adventures. Nick explores how the ocean supports our well-being and why that connection is so important to protect.

At Native Shoes, we’ve always felt our best by the water, so we were excited to sit down with Nick and hear his perspective on how we can all slow down, pay attention, and deepen our relationship with water—wherever we are.

World Oceans Day is all about honoring and protecting our oceans. How do you see the link between personal wellbeing and caring for the ocean?

The link between personal well-being and caring for the ocean is a felt sense. It's not something cognitive that we can only think about or dream about. It's something that we feel every day. When we are on the water, with the water, a part of the water—it changes the way we move. It softens us and it powers us to surrender and ultimately it brings people together.

World Oceans Day is all about honoring and protecting our oceans. How do you see the link between personal wellbeing and caring for the ocean?

Nick: The link between personal well-being and caring for the ocean is a felt sense. It's not something cognitive that we can only think about or dream about. It's something that we feel every day. When we are on the water, with the water, a part of the water—it changes the way we move. It softens us and it powers us to surrender and ultimately it brings people together

What is your personal experience with water/the ocean and how did that inspire your company, This is Water?

Nick: All of my earliest memories of water were full of tranquility, calmness, peace of mind, and hopefulness. This is Water was founded because of what happened when I was on the water and my deep desire to bring that feeling to other people too.

What is your personal experience with water/the ocean and how did that inspire your company, This is Water?

Nick: All of my earliest memories of water were full of tranquility, calmness, peace of mind, and hopefulness. This is Water was founded because of what happened when I was on the water and my deep desire to bring that feeling to other people too.

What’s one thing you wish more people understood about our relationship to the ocean—whether we live near it or not?

Nick: It’s awesome when we live next to the water, but just because we don't live next to the ocean doesn't mean there's not an impact or that we can't have an impact on water.

Water is in the food we eat and the air we breathe. Everything we do is impacted by our relationship with water, and that's super essential for our mental, physical, and emotional well-being.

For someone who’s curious but new to this idea, what’s a practical way they can start tapping into the calming or restorative effects of water in their everyday life?

Nick: My first recommendation is always quite simple—just slow down. Find the space, the time, the moment to enjoy having a sip of water, going for a swim, taking a shower.

We don't even realize how often we interact with water directly, but also indirectly. Really try to notice all of the ways that we are [interacting] with water and create a ritual out of them—slow down and give thanks and gratitude that the water we're either putting inside of our bodies or immersing ourselves in has had a hundred or even a thousand or a million forms before that. Each of those forms is essential, and each of those forms is the very reason that we exist in our bodies on this earth today.

Water is the source of life.

Follow @nisharp and @thisiswater.life to see more of his work and reflections on all things water, well-being, and connection.

What’s one thing you wish more people understood about our relationship to the ocean—whether we live near it or not?

Nick: It’s awesome when we live next to the water, but just because we don't live next to the ocean doesn't mean there's not an impact or that we can't have an impact on water.

Water is in the food we eat and the air we breathe. Everything we do is impacted by our relationship with water, and that's super essential for our mental, physical, and emotional well-being.

For someone who’s curious but new to this idea, what’s a practical way they can start tapping into the calming or restorative effects of water in their everyday life?

Nick: My first recommendation is always quite simple—just slow down. Find the space, the time, the moment to enjoy having a sip of water, going for a swim, taking a shower.

We don't even realize how often we interact with water directly, but also indirectly. Really try to notice all of the ways that we are [interacting] with water and create a ritual out of them—slow down and give thanks and gratitude that the water we're either putting inside of our bodies or immersing ourselves in has had a hundred or even a thousand or a million forms before that. Each of those forms is essential, and each of those forms is the very reason that we exist in our bodies on this earth today.

Water is the source of life.

Follow @nisharp and @thisiswater.life to see more of his work and reflections on all things water, well-being, and connection.