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 I've
had the pleasure of swimming with dolphins on many occasions, and
find them to be truly generous beings who treat people with great
tenderness and affection. They also love to play with us, as the
following story attests.
It was during one of my trips to
Bimini, in the Bahamas. It's a beautiful place, and I take groups
there to bask in the sacred springs and swim with the dolphins there.
On this day the dolphins were extremely playful, and they were
having a tag game with a piece of seaweed. They were passing it back
and forth between them as they zoomed all around us.
I was watching with all the attention
of a kid in front of Sunday cartoons. I was glued to the action. All
of a sudden they swam up and dropped the seaweed in front of me. I
was shocked, they were inviting me to play! Needing no second
invitation, I grabbed it (taking in only a small mouthful of water),
and took off. I looked over my shoulder and sure enough, they were
right behind me. I swam as hard and as fast as I could, arms and
legs thrashing the water. What I lacked in grace I made up for in
splash. I imagine I looked like a toddler to them, barely making
headway but with a lot of heart. When I was winded, which was pretty
quick at that speed, I dove down and released the seaweed.
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Wham! They grabbed it right back and were
off. They chased each other, passing it from mouth to flipper to tail,
zooming in and out of sight. (see photos) I was all grins, huffing
and puffing as I caught my breath. Then they brought it over and
dropped it in front of me again! I was the kid who's invited by the
big guys to get off the bleachers and join in the game. I kicked off
my imaginary crutches (the dolphins don't want to play with me),
grabbed that seaweed and swam my best. After another minute of
splashing and thrashing, I dove down, released it, and bobbed back to
the surface, winded and content to watch them continue.
The game went on, and the seaweed
passed back and forth between us several more times. Each time they
dropped it in front of me I felt a physical shock, for it challenged
an age old belief that I was doomed to be left out of the game. I
swear these dolphins knew what they were doing. It brought me face to
face with that old belief, and their behavior proved it wrong again
and again.
It felt like receiving the darshan of
a saint. A profound sense of peace and gratitude swept over me. This
simple play was truly a holy interaction. I felt deeply honored they
would include me in their game. They are so incredibly loving and
generous to us humans.
A year later I was sharing this story
when I realized that I never saw the dolphins take the seaweed from
each other. They always waited for it to be released before grabbing
it. It was what we as kids called "fair play," where
everyone gets a turn, no matter your ability. What a great way to
play!
(This article is contributed by Planetary
Partners - Editor.)
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