Like many of us, Sebi (in the striped shirt) has a fear of the water. Silke, his mom, has been trying to get him and his brother Nicolas ready for their trip here to Bimini, to swim with the wild dolphins, and he was scared to put his face in the pool…
He’d taken a number of swimming lessons and they hadn’t helped.
I assured Silke that I could help Sebi get comfortable in the water. I’ve done it with lots of people; it always turns out to be easier than they think.
Some might say his fear was from a past experience. To me, the ‘why’ is insignificant, all we need do is get present, and in the moment, the way to move forward will be revealed.
When they got here, I took Sebi and his brother Nicholas into the shallow water, to ‘test out’ their new snorkel gear… I could see the fear in his face as his eyes darted around, checking out his strange surroundings, trying to figure out if he was safe in this water…
After splashing about a bit, we put on his mask. Talking to him playfully thru my snorkel, (Zedi, cad u heah me???), we established eye contact, the same kind of contact I was hoping he’d have over the next few days with the dolphins… (see the video below)
Facing each other with eyes locked, noses a foot apart, we slowly got down on our knees… then, in synchronicity, we gently lowered ourselves deeper, deeper, until we were smiling and making faces at each other underwater…
That simple!
How? By simply being present. By letting go of the past, we met in the present moment, and from here our desire to have fun in the water inspired our actions…
While I’d like to say it was a well-thought out plan, in truth it was simply inspired action; the same kind of inspired action that is available to all of us every moment.
I don’t think fear is necessarily something that needs to be faced. There are a gazillion fears out there, i’m too busy having fun to spend my time facing fears. I used to be a therapist and my specialty was helping clients face their fears. I got paid big bucks to hold their hand and help them see that their fear was simply a mask…
But not all fears need to be met face-first. Many can simply be left to die of neglect. Its a LOT more fun to simply bypass them in our excitement to move forward.
For the rest of their family holiday, Sebi was in the crystal clear blue Bahamian ocean for hours each day with his brother and mom, swimming with the wild dolphins, the sea turtles, the stingrays and the fishies… You can see the video of their trip below:
What fear is in your life right now, waiting to be released?
Click on the photo below to see pictures of Sebi, Nicholas and Silke’s island adventure, complete with dolphins and turtles and fishies!
“For all those feeling called to go, I can only say GO, and don’t look back, your life won’t be the same. ” Silke Otremba
(Read Silke’s full quote here)
Join us in sending our Love & Thanks into the sea!
Joe Noonan is an author, speaker, dolphin whisperer and spiritual guide who leads retreats around the world and facilitates self awareness programs for those on the path of joyful awakening.
A guest on National Geographic, Fox TV and Oprah, Joe reflects back to people that this world is already a Heaven on Earth, and that the tools to find joy in the moment are around and within us. He offers workshops, internet programs and nature retreats that awaken us to our divine joy and connection with Nature.
Wild Dolphin Trips – http://DolphinWhisperer.org
Self Awareness Programs – http://PlanetaryPartners.com
Corporate Leadership Seminars – http://OnenessInCommunity.com
“Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God” Tielhard de Chardin
© Joe Noonan
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