Wallace J. Nichols was a friend, ocean advocate, and often requested guest on the podcast. I first met J when I was twenty. I was a young activist, a little too eager, convinced that the world needed saving, and I would be the one to save it. After giving him my little spiel, he took a long breath through his nose, smiled slightly, and said, “You’re very earnest, Kyle. Don’t lose that.”

Over the next decade, we became buds. He gave me public speaking lessons, opened countless doors, and sat down for recorded chats. Even when months passed, each time we reconnected, the depth was immediate. The way he spoke, listened, and showed up caused anyone in his energy field to drop their shoulders and breathe a little deeper. In that way, J was like the ocean.

Blue Mind is a book about water, but its core message is mental health. J knew that the mind is a muscle capable of moving the world, and his simple message of jumping in the water brilliantly flipped the doom and gloom narrative into a story that was personal:

We won’t save nature. Nature will save us.

It’s easy to try and numb pain with distraction. J felt life deeply, he was one of the most earnest people I know. And I think when he told me not to lose my own earnestness all those years ago, he was telling me not to lose my capacity to feel. Because life can hurt, so let it hurt.

I end each podcast the same way: Get in the water, whichever body of water is closest to you. The next time we plunge into our “blue marble,” let’s feel the sensation fully and thank our friend Wallace J. Nichols for all he gave us. Earnestly.

Please donate to his family and continued mission here.

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