Last summer, we had the great fortune to be able to snorkel at Buck Island Reef National Monument near St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. Buck Island snorkeling is really great. There’s a kind of canyon of rock and coral that you can snorkel over. The park service has added markers on the sea floor that you can read as you go that tell about the fish and plants that you are seeing. I loved it. I saw (and swam with!) barracuda and grouper, parrot fish of all colors and angel fish who all move together as one in huge schools. It’s like a ballet the way they all move. I saw three Caribbean Reef squid playing in the currents. There’s a fish called a wrasse that has one bright neon color covering its head and front half, then a contrasting neon color for the back half. Amazing! There are so many kinds and colors, God’s creation is dazzling.
One of the many reasons I love to snorkel is the discovery of that whole new world below the surface of the water. I love the infinite variety of shapes and colors. Another reason I love it is the peacefulness. When your head is in the water, all you hear is your own breathing. It’s just me and the sea, even if there are others close by. Toward the end of my swim at Buck Island last summer, I got a bit detached from everyone. I could see the boat and other swimmers if I lifted my head and looked around, but when my face was in the water, I was alone. To me, this is the best time. Mostly, my eyes are downward, toward the sea bottom filled with coral and plants and fish darting here and there. I have learned, though, that some fish hang out with me toward the top, so I know to look around me at all the levels. This is exactly what I was doing, when, all of a sudden, I was surrounded by hundreds of small, clear jellyfish. They looked like small clear/white umbrellas. I had never encountered jellyfish while snorkeling before, but instantly I was a bit frightened. I knew jellies sting, and the sting can be very painful. So, here I was, in the middle of a cloud of jellyfish. As they passed me, I could feel them touching my skin – butterfly kisses on my cheek, my arms, my legs. All I could hear was my own quick breaths. I quick kicking and just lay there as the jellies passed me by. Within just a few seconds, they were gone. I was fine except a pounding heart.
When I got back to the boat later, I asked the captain about the jellyfish. He reassured me that the little, small jellies like I had seen rarely sting. The ones that I should be cautious of are those that have tentacles you can see. I really had nothing to be afraid of.
I know there’s a lesson here. It seems to me that there are times when trouble comes and I focus on the trouble instead of all the blessings that abound as well. In the moments that I just relaxed and let the jellies pass me by I had the extraordinary adventure of feeling them touch me. Had I tried to get away or protect myelf, I wouldn’t have felt their gentle touches and maybe I would have caused one to actually sting me. I’d like to have this kind of approach to many of my day to day irritations and troubles. Would I not be better off to be quiet and let the experience touch me and move on instead of fighting and rebelling?
