10:00 am, Hoodsport, WA 12/28/17

Yesterday I completed my Open Water Scuba Course through the scuba shop I work for. I cannot believe how incredibly blessed I am to have gained a new skill and experience true wonders of the sea. I found myself mesmerized and filled with joy just floating and watching the sea life beneath me scurry around.

The first day consisted of skills and basic scuba orientation. Weather was running about 37 degrees. My dry suit had a leak, and let in a good amount of water by the end of the day. It was cold and I was sopping. Fortunately for me, I deny myself the simple pleasure of complaining in physically demanding situations because of pride–I’d like to think I am a touch chick.

We dove out in Hood Canal by the dive shop in Hoodsport. The photo above was taken at 10:00 AM, out on the Yellow House porch while instructors (Jack and Alex) and Avrey (one of my coworkers who was also doing the training) sat and drank coffee while going over the plan for the final day.

The second day was even better than the first. We did three more open water dives and the final dive was one of the most magical experiences. We were running out of light since day light ends around 4 o’clock, and visibility in the water is drastically diminished around that time. Me and my partner, dove for 40 minutes. I started with a tank of 2,500 psi and ended with only 600 psi. It was a real dive! I was in complete and utter awe.

I have never felt so weightless. When I was diving, all my worries escaped me like the air bubbles from my lungs racing towards the surface. The only thing I was  focused on was my breathing. Breath in, breath out, and be. It was effortless, but at the same time required an incredible amount of attention. Life can be tough and sometimesI feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. I put a lot of pressure on myself, and the most appealing aspect that diving  has, is this feeling of being weightless. Sometimes when in the midst of anxiety and nervousness, I crave the ability to swim into the deepest parts of the sea. I have always associated freedom with the water. I was on to something, water has the ability to nourish life. Water IS life.

Life has a funny way of chewing you up and spitting you up. The sea and life underwater is truly another world. We experience a very different perspective being terrestrial creatures and too often, the unknown teaches us a bit more about ourselves than the world we are surrounded by. That is probably why humans seek mountain tops and epic places, so that we can be humbled into our own existential place in this world.

Lesson learned: when in doubt, look to the sea for answers.