It’s September 19th,
2013; almost one year to the day that I left the corporate world of broadcast news. Now, if you’d asked me back then,
if I had any clue I’d be dunking myself in shark-infested waters 200 miles out
at sea, I would have laughed at you with a shudder, as the body tends to do
when it senses something unpleasant or scary.
But in 2 weeks, I’m going to be doing exactly that. I will be climbing into an aluminum cage
floating in a depth of 250 feet of water, where one of the most feared
creatures waits for me to dip my little body, dressed like a meal, into its
salted sea world.
I grew up on the ocean; lived
everyday at the beach. I’m used to the
unknown and mystery the vast ocean provides a landlubber, who stares at the
horizon and only dreams of traveling there.
But as fate would have it, that dream is coming true. Sometimes you don’t have to ask for things
that you want; they just seem to find their way to you. My life, like so many others, became mundane;
working in an office 50 to sometimes 60 hours a week; punching in, punching
out, not making the time or taking the time to live and experience what was “out on that horizon, out beyond the neon lights.”
In March of this year,
through osmosis or cosmoses, I met Martin Graf, Managing Director at Shark Diver, who listened to me talk about my love for the sea, big fish, waves,
surfing… anything ‘ocean.’ How could he
not make me a member of Shark Diver after hearing my longing to be near it? I even call myself, 'Ocean.' Now, I am scheduled for 'the dive' and what
is running through my head? Am I going
to be eaten? How ironic though, since my whole working life, I’ve been swimming
with corporate sharks, feeling their ‘bite,’ for 20 years. I fear them more! I actually welcome a great white’s nibble. I hear they are turned off by the taste of
human blood, anyway. Mine is way to
sweet, I can assure them. But it’s got
to be on every diver’s mind, even the toughest, which take the leap and book a
trip to faraway lands such as Isla Guadalupe, where predators lurk. Some seek a thrill, some fill a bucket list
and some are just ‘crazy’ as many do say.
Here’s what I tell the divers who express their fears after just
committing to embark on a life-changing undertaking…these are the divers who
hear from their family and friends, the shuddering, ‘your crazy.’ I say, “This is living!” This dive is one of those awe-inspiring
moments that God hands to us when we’re least expected. It’s an offering with an intent on waking our
spirit, arousing our soul and forcing us to come face to face with those
moments in life that stop you in your tracks and just blow you away. It’s like a bloom in a barren desert, an
eagle soaring over a snow-capped mountain, or a giant fish swimming freely in a
seemingly endless blue abyss. They are moments that make you cry at their
beauty. They are moments you don’t want
to experience alone. You are hoping the
whole world could see what you see.
It’s not just a ‘crazy’
choice we have made to dive with a giant – no – it’s a climb others may never
reach, it’s a cleanse from life’s hazy film, and it is a spiritual moment
shared between man and beast that one can only feel by living it! How can there be any other answer? “Yes, to dive!”
About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkoperations@gmail.com.
