Turtles and The Reef

How was your weekend?

I have been limping all day today. Turns out I went out paddle boarding with my husband in the ocean for two hours. It was glorious and it was miserable. I think you need a little background.

My hubby is a water person. It is hard for me to describe what this means to you, except maybe to tell you this. I used to live in Phoenix, Arizona and he moved from Vancouver, British Columbia to start our lives together 17 years ago. His friends were reminding him that Arizona was a desert. He still wanted to try to make this relationship work. He still managed to find a body of water that was 90 minutes North of us to practice his water sports. Usually really early in the morning, before the sun would come out. That is the dedication he has to wanting to be doing water sports. 

I am more like, oh look at that still body of water, let me go snorkel there. 

Once in a while, we compromise. I go paddle boarding with him if the wind is not too strong and he paddles toward the waves. 

This past weekend, I decided to accompany him. From our home the ocean looked still. I went along to set out to paddle board a couple of hours with him. I had just finished a run and had my favorite running hat on. 

As we kept going, at some point the wind started to pick up and I gently reminded him that I prefer to turn around. This seemed like a good idea. Then he said he is going to return to our spot but would go into the waves. That was fine by me. It was my cue that the wind is going to pick up and I better stay focused and turn back fast. Except, not even 2 minutes later, the wind picked up and the waves kept getting bigger and bigger. I lost my balance. I fell off the board. The water temperature is wonderful so initially I didn't mind. I got up and started paddling again. Predictably, the wind picked up even more and the waves kept throwing me into the ocean. I lost my paddle. I lost my hat. The board was upside down and the wind kept coming. I noticed the paddle had gone one direction and my hat the other. I dove down and picked up the paddle. The hat was too far. I was still trying to wrestle with the board. It kept knocking me over. Initially, it felt fine and I was up for the challenge. Then I started to realize that I was in the shallower part of the ocean with a lot of coral reef that were cutting my legs and my feet. My feet got torn up. 

Have you ever accidentally landed on coral reef? I am super cautious because I realize they are living creatures and try to avoid them when I fall down. This time I didn't expect them to be so close to my feet. They are so innocent looking, think Finding Nemo, but if you barely come in contact with them, they cut so deeply. 

I pulled myself up and managed to stand back up. First on my knees and later on standing upright. Still got knocked over a couple more times, and then the wind stopped. I looked around, hoping to find my favorite hat. I could no longer see my running hat. As I was checking the still waters to search for my hat some more, two small Hawaiian sea turtles swam under my board. They went under once, swam around, went under my feet again, then came up for air. Almost as if to say hello to me. It was like a movie. It was so magical and peaceful. It felt intentional. Like they were checking up on me. 

Everytime I go snorkeling, it is with the hope to see the turtles close up. I have seen them multiple times, but every time is as magical as the last time. It's never an ordinary experience. To me, it almost feels a bit spiritual. These gentle creatures that swim so gracefully in the ocean and seem to be harming nothing they come across. When you get close to them if you are snorkeling, you notice the little fish that swim around them and are eating off of their beautiful shell. All of it is so peaceful. It's my favorite thing to come across in the ocean. 

I looked at my feet. Bloody mess on my board as the cuts into the soles of my feet were now freely oozing out. 

Then I remembered. Life is always fifty fifty, isn't it? It is never all good or all bad. It is never good without the bad and it seems to me that it's also never bad without some silver lining. You see, the turtles were there because of the coral reef. Without the reef, there was no turtle. 

In life we try to hurry through experiences that are not positive to get to some Hallmark movie ending experience. It doesn't work that way. Life is a whole package. All or nothing. 

No Coral Reef, no turtles. 

This morning, I didn't get to go for a run since my feet still feel inflamed and are too tender to even walk around my house. But when I think back about the moment that the turtles peacefully swam right underneath my paddleboard, I am reminded of the principal of life being fifty fifty.

That realization allows you to expand your mind and accept life with all of its imperfections because that is part of the whole package. A bad experience does not negate a positive one.

When we look at our life now, or when we look back at our past to tell ourselves and others the story of our lives, how do we manage our minds around these stories?

Do we remember the coral reef and the cut on the feet or the majestic moment of watching the turtle and the other whole hour that was peaceful paddling in the beautiful pacific ocean?

I know how we tell our stories and how we show up in our lives has a lot to do with retelling our own story.

You get to decide. 

I will remember the turtles as I feel the burn of the cut on my feet. 

I miss my hat, but imagine it washing up on a shore, and some sun drenched soul will find it and get a much needed refuge from the brutal sun. I will decide to imagine that hat having much more purpose than what it was doing for me on my recreational runs. 

I get to decide how all of those events mean to me. I decide that it was amazing. 

For me, it was completely worth it. 

With so much love and Aloha.