Amy G. Casey

(Another dispatch from vacation last week…)

“Go placidly amid the noise and hast and remember what peace there may be in silence.”
- From “Desiderata” by Max Ehrmann

Today I was blessed with the amazing opportunity to kayak in the ocean. Having only recently overcome my extreme fear of water, this alone was a big deal for me. But the real grace was leaving the noise of the bay to float around a mangrove thicket full of birds. I could hear the surf behind me, and only the noise of the animals in the mangroves and the slap of the water on my kayak. A silent, floating meditation.

(Written on paper last week as I was “unwired” at the beach…)

In a sea kayak for the first time, and the dolphins were all around us! Joan was whooping with joy, and even David, who is usually reserved, was grinning from ear to ear and talking to the dolphins. I didn’t really get it until a dolphin swam right next to boat – so close I could touch it! Then I was whooping, too – I have no idea what was coming out of my mouth, but I was so excited I got a little short of breath, I feltso overwhelmed. Never did I expect myself to react that way – I’m usually quiet and calm around animals, but the dolphins’ energy was unlike anything I have ever encountered. They emanate a high vibration of joy. What can you do but join in?

As we paddled around, my friends insisted they were playing with us, but I wasn’t convinced at first.  But after a while, I realized that they were weaving between our three kayaks, sometimes surfing on our bows when we were moving fast. They were having fun with us having fun.