The ocean is a magical place, full of unseen beautiful fishes in all colors and sizes, different species of dolphins, jelly fish, sea horses, barracuda, sea centipedes, sea snails, star fish, squids, crabs, sea snakes, eels, sting rays and amazing colorful coral. I would know, for as a youngster I remember my brother and I spending hours at a time, scuba diving beneath the depths of the surface, exploring the underworld of the ocean. What a sight to behold! Eyes wide open for me not to miss a thing, I swam off the coast of Barbados, Jamaica, St.Lucia, Martinique and Dominica. I remember the beautiful spectacles all to well.

I remember swimming among schools of the most gorgeous fish you would ever lay your eyes on, off the coast of Dominica. I remember touching those fish and watching them scurry away in fear. I remember seeing massive electric eels peeping out of the crevices of the rocks. I remember  riding on the backs of the majestic dolphins of Martinique, with not a fear in the world! How smart they are, these animals. Way smarter than I could have ever imagined! They would carry me for hours, bobbing and weaving, zigging and zagging, jumping and splashing! Their skin as smooth as silk. Occasionally, I would reward them with a fish or two.  They loved it and me! They all gathered around and sang their dolphin song, only they understood and did their dolphin dance only they knew. They came together in an upright manner under water, and swirled around each other, gave a little kiss and backed away in a backflip motion, and swam around and came back together. It was so very amusing to me. For you see never before had I been in such close proximity to such beautiful animals.

Once tired of that I would let go and dove deeper. There I mingled with sea turtles. Such majestic creatures. They swam merrily along, undeterred by our presence, in search of their food. They to allowed us to ride on their backs, much to my surprise. I was more than elated, and merrily let them take me where ever they desired. What fun I used to have. My brother and I took turns riding the turtles like there was no tomorrow! Not everyday you get to see live sea turtles! We also got to observe them as they hunted for fish, so slow and methodical as to not miss one. What a sight!

In the corner of my eye I remember seeing  long blue barracudas motionlessly drifting with the tide, a school of sea horses bobbing around aimlessly it appeared to me, and the most amazing blinking multicolored jelly fish I have ever seen. I remember thinking there’s a whole new world under here as I stared into the distance! Glancing below me I spotted some sea centipedes, some sea snails, and even a squid, lounging out on the coral. What a treat!

I loved every moment of it! Never before had I been so happy ever in my life. At that moment, all my problems were put on hold, it’s like nothing else mattered but just swimming with the sea creatures. There was peace and tranquility for once in my life! The more I swam the more I felt at ease with myself. Do you know how amazing that felt? Freeing yourself from the stresses of life for that brief moment you are submerged. Can you for even a minute begin to imagine how therapeutic that felt? Well let me tell you, no activity in this world can fill you with this great feeling of total relaxation!

Don’t take my word for it? Try it sometime!

“Live free, Love life, Take risks!” – Yannick Theodore

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