Little by Little, Day by Day: Dolphin Encounters

The water. I've been a fish since I was a kid. The water has always been my life. Swim team was my life for years, and the ocean was my home every summer. On our family vacations to the shore in Jersey each year, my Dad and I would be the first ones up, heading out fishing just after the sun came up. Ten years old, and I couldn't be more excited to go out with my Dad to see what we could catch. We would dig a tidal pool, and each fish he reeled in would spend a half hour or so in the pool. I would keep the water cold, keep bubbles for oxygen, and as people would wander out on the beach as the sun got higher, I would tell each and every person about the kind of fish in the pool. Eventually, we'd throw the fish back, careful not to let it die or get too stressed out. We even got in the newspaper a few times, for gathering 50+ people around our little pool, and everyone on the beach would call me "the Fish girl". I had a woman even tell me I should be a marine biologist once. I even stood up to a lifeguard who told me to throw a sand shark back once, telling him that I think I can take care of a fish better then he can (I was a professional). I loved those fish, with all my heart.

But nothing compared to the dolphins. I had my first encounter with dolphins in Florida, where I did the touristy swim and kiss them. I did the same thing in a lagoon in the Bahamas, where I got to really swim and play with them. After then I was hooked. Whenever at the Jersey shore and I would see dolphins, I would be the first one jumping into a kayak and paddling full speed ahead to say hello to them. I remember once they pulled up right next to my kayak, eyeing me up. I swear they felt me. I mean felt my soul, felt my spirit, connected with me. They're spiritual beings, they're beautiful spiritual beings.

And this next encounter, here in California, can't be beat. I was out with my Dad, he was kayaking and I was paddle boarding. Hearing of all the recent great white shark sightings, I was a bit nervous to be potentially putting myself at the bottom of the food chain. But we paddled out, probably a half a mile out. We saw sea lions jumping around us, playing with each other. Pelicans were dive bombing around us. And the dolphins. Oh, the dolphins were everywhere. They surfaced just feet from me, saying hello, and bringing a calming presence to the ocean. I can't explain the feeling of seeing a dolphin look you right in the eye. If I believe in energy, I can certainly feel energy radiating from a dolphin, and being in the middle of a pack of dolphins is certainly the epitome of good karma.

The circled us, showing us their grace, their beauty, and after the swam back out to sea, we went in after what seemed like hours, and I felt peace. The peace I feel after a great yoga class, or after meditation. But I not only felt peace, I felt this great connection to earth, and to God. I felt connection to who I am, and why I am here. Dolphins are my soul mates, and forever will the ocean be my home.