Manatee Noses
Two years ago I had the extraordinary privilege of going on a trip with my spouse to swim with manatees. The trip was a special gift from him and fulfilled a big dream of mine. The guide service took care to teach everyone getting on the boat NOT to touch the manatees or get close to them. The manatees could come to us, but we couldn’t go up to them. Because at the end of the day, we were entering their home.
The manatees winter near the natural freshwater springs in Florida because the spring water is warmer than the ocean; the springs stay around 72 degrees Fahrenheit. While that is nice for the manatees, for humans it generally means a wetsuit is in order. So, snorkel, dive mask, wetsuit and inflatable life vest on (the vest was a guide service requirement), training video watched, it was time to enter the manatees’ home.
The first step off the ladder into the cold water is quite a shock to the system, especially if one isn’t used to spending time in aquatic habitats. But then, the manatees take over the experience. I was floating on the surface with my hands folded in front of my waist so I wouldn’t be tempted to touch when a baby manatee came right up to me. I don’t know who was looking at who more, the manatee or me. There was something so precious and special about that encounter, about that up close and personal with a manatee nose to nose. It was a tremendous gift.
Our natural world nurtures all of us. Our earth home feeds our bodies and our spirits. Some religious traditions say that we humans were given our blue watery planet to take care of it and to use it. But, I personally don’t know of a single religious tradition that says we are supposed to abuse it.
So, going about our daily routine what can be done to focus on appreciating the beauty, the peace of our planet home? What can we do to protect it and to nurture it back? What can we do to take care that there will be baby manatee noses tomorrow?
I, too, had a gift once, of swimming with manatees. It was just as you describe, cold, wet and glorious. I did feel like a guest in a home, one I could visit with special accoutrements, but not one I could really inhabit permanently. I like the spiritual traditions that give voice to the truth that all of us, from microbes and insects to wks and elephant share the same lather home, and as guests, inhabitants, visitors and travelers, respect, love and admiration for one another and our Earth are the passports truly, deeply required of us.
Thanks for listening, and posting.