| It all began on a normal Saturday! Got up, made breakfast, got the car packed for a day trip to the beach! Got to the beach, struggled through the carrying of <sigh> all the stuff down there and slow baby feet. Finally I was sitting on a chair looking out into the water, the chatter of my children in the background playing in the sand, the seagulls singing, loving the warmth of the sun on my skin .. when it happened. I am not a <sea> water person, but low and behold I found myself being pulled toward the ocean. I got up feeling really rather silly, but needing to venture into this direction my *something or other* was signaling me towards. Once my feet hit the water, there was no turning back. I treaded out until I was in neck deep and just when I thought I was really losing it, I mean .. what <am> I doing? There it was! A fin! Oh my garsh .. no way~! See what happens when I listen to that inner thingie? What do I do? A trillion things are going through my mind. Do I stand still and hope it goes away? Do I swim back? NOOO I saw Jaws, all of them. They are attracted to that. Maybe, just maybe it isn't a shark. Maybe it is a dolphin. Yeah! That thought is the only one keeping me rational! Sooo this is a dolphin. OK then. I am presented with an opportunity of a lifetime! Instead of figuring out a means of escape .. I need to relish in this. I stand and stare at the fin. Awaiting to see the face of the dolphin, but I get bored waiting. Is this a dolphin? Don't they need to come up for air? I don't to this day know what prompted me to do the following: I decided I needed to go under and look. Now if anyone has ever opened their eyes in saltwater, you know it doesn't feel good. But it can be done. I went under. It took me a couple tries before I could find an object, but I did. Oh but I did. This wasn't a dolphin. Of course, I wasn't surprised. Surprised? No .. scared to death now .. YES! Finally my inner and outer .. connected. What to do, what to do!!! Then it clicked. While under the water and viewing the massive blob, I also noticed a school of fish. They were not being bothered by the blob. Infact, they looked happy! Afraid of me more than anything, but happy in their surroundings. What a time to get philosophical, but who can pick the right moment for that anyway? I was out there in that darn salty water for <some> reason, right? And I didn't think it was my time, hmmm wonder what that would feel like? Anyway .. the thought came to me. Survival. These fish do it every second of every day of every week .. and so on. They could very easily be blob food, but they don't live their life in fear of such. I love fish. I admire them. I have a 72-gallon tank of Cichlids and can stare for the longest in amazement at these creatures. They are awesome! What is life like under water? I have often contemplated that! Do they think the same thing looking back at me? Ok, I may be getting a bit out there for some of you, but I am aq .. I am allowed! :-) Besides, when you are in the water neck deep with a blob close to you, it is understandable to have eccentric thoughts! So, if anyone is wondering by now where this is going, or bored .. or just plain tired of being here .. there is a reason for this story! I discovered something amazing! I decided to become a fish; I decided to become an element of the sea. That was my survival. I had to rid the fear, and put myself in a natural state. If the blob decided I looked good for lunch, then so be it. But darn tootin .. if I had to go down as a people sandwich, I was going to go with dignity. I took a deep breath .. went under water. Admired the blob .. shark. That I could be so close, and swam towards the shore. It took me less than a minute to get to shore, but the feeling I took away from there is timeless. I got out of the water rubber legged. Made it back to my chair. Heard the chatter of my children playing in the sand, began to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin .. but my mind stayed in the water .. I became a fish. I survived the blob. The chatter of a seagull chimed in .. hey, I wonder what it would be like to fly? |
