Let go of your mind and then be mindful. Close your ears and listen!” ― Rumi, Loves Ripening: Rumi on the Hearts Journey Well. Dolphin Dive day. Not what I expected, but I think, at least for me, it turned out to be an experience that I will carry with me always. The dolphins are kept in pens, something I ordinarily do not approve of. But generally speaking they are there because they have been rehabilitated or taken in because previous owners no longer wanted to care for them. They are well taken care of, and live in a sanctuary, far from the noise and chaos of screaming tourists and there is even a veterinarian on staff. They are loved, of that I am sure. Anyway, we were taken out to where the dolphins stay and got to watch as the trainer sauntered past the pens, deep in conversation with one of our crew. The dolphins started flipping and dancing, thinking they were going to get some treats. After about 15 minutes we got back in the dive boat and we left the little marina towards the dive site. And right behind us came the trainer in a little speed boat, the dolphins following close behind. They were leaping out of the water in that effortless, joyful way they do. They cruised alongside our boat and I quieted my mind to observe, camera mostly dangling at my side, for I was determined to take as much of this in as I could. Tears filled my eyes watching their sleek bodies slicing through the water; I was overcome by their power and speed and I understood in that moment that joy is there, always, just like that, for the taking. We arrived at the dive site, and given instructions on how we were to proceed. Lexie, one of the dive masters, and I were the first two in the water and we descended immediately. She pointed out a turtle, but I never got to finish my thought because suddenly I was staring into the smiling face of a bottle nose dolphin. She nosed my face and swam around me, and went back and forth a couple of times in front of me. She let me stroke her flank. Then she was gone. The other divers descended but the dolphins never appeared. The trainer tried twice to persuade them to come to us from his boat, parked about two hundred yards in back of our boat. It could have been sharks. It could have been anything. Nobody knows why the dolphins would not cooperate. The same thing happened not two days ago to another group. So I alone interacted with one of them. And it was no trainers command that brought her to me. I dont know why she chose me - its not like I rubbed sardine juice behind my ears or had tuna fish for breakfast. What I do know, was that I was visited by Grace, and Im crying with gratitude as I write this. If the dolphin dive had gone as planned, we would have all participated in a choreographed event, with the dolphins doing tricks for us, and it would have lasted about 35 minutes. I know that these excursions can be very useful and valuable because it allows people to interact with these animals in their own environment, and I dont want to minimize the importance of educating a largely uninformed public. But to me it would have been deeply unsatisfying because there was nothing spontaneous about any of it. Like a Disneyland event, it would have felt forced and impersonal. My experience lasted maybe 10 seconds, but it was more than enough for me. My heart is full. For isnt every second, fully felt, an eternity?
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 19:06:31 +0000
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