Happily Ever Now

Back in April there were a few weeks when the weather here in Maui was rainy, cloudy and what we call ‘cold’- below 70 degrees. James and I hadn’t been to the beach in WEEKS at one point (poor us right? :)) and were really ready for a dip in the ocean and some sunshine.

Finally, on a Sunday, the weather got back up to 80 something and we went to Kamaole I beach in Kihei. It’s a great beach because it’s clean, the sand is fine with few rocks, the break is gentle and it’s a long enough stretch to walk on.

After warming up on our towels, James and I started swimming with our goggles on in the clear ocean. He headed from the shallow area to the deeper, rocky side shore that juts out between Kamaole I and II. I saw the small splashes and movement of snorkelers in that direction. I followed just to get a peak of the fish.

I’d had the stomach flu just before this and just swimming was wearing me down. James went way out past the end of the rocky jut while I pattered above some colorful fish about half way out.

My breathing was heavier than I felt comfortable with and I still had to swim back to shore. I looked out to tell James I was headed back in, but I couldn’t get his attention by waving. I turned around to head back and then heard, “Jen!”

James said, “Sea turtle!”

I immediately dove down and swam out toward James with a burst of energy. He swam south around the rocky jut, following the turtle, as I swam toward him. I paused once briefly to catch my breath, then caught up to James.

Underwater, he pointed to the turtle who was down about 10 feet deep in 20 feet of water. Slowly, the turtle’s arms and legs moved forward then back…slowly. It looked like it was flying as it swam in the blue water. We swam behind him at a distance for a bit and then he disappeared into the blue.

James and I hugged each other and were both glowing from the beauty and magic of swimming with the turtle. We looked over to the shore and were all the way in front of Kamaole II. We decided to swim into that beach and walk back to our towels.

When we arrived back at our towels, I realized that for the entire swim I thought of nothing other than my immediate environment. I was a swimmer. I was the turtle. I wasn’t in my head worrying, trying to figure things out, or planning anything. From that presence I was gently led to my heart through experiencing the beauty and wildness of nature. I felt refreshed and rejuvenated and my heart was open.

Spending time in nature is a gentle way to get out of your head, stop fretting and to connect with the moment. When you take the time to step back and connect with something greater than yourself, you connect to your heart and open up to a depth of living that is greater than your problems.