Well, not really! I went snorkeling in Fiji for the very first time. You: “Tandar! Are you just going to write about your activities in Fiji or is there yet another lesson you’ve learned that you’re sharing with us hoping we can relate it to some aspect of our lives that will help us move forward?” Ummm! I guess I’m just telling you about my activities in Fiji! Just kidding. 😛
Ok, so here is how this one goes:
As I said in the previous blog, once we arrived in Fiji we had to sign up for various activities and other things! Since I do not have a scuba diving license (THANK GOD!) I chose snorkeling as one of my “in-between classes” activities. I never swam in open waters unless you count in the safe beach shores of many countries. After the movie “Jaws” I had built a tiny fear (as many of you have as well, don’t lie!) that if I swam in open waters a big white shark will come to eat me or take a chunk of my body away! I’m also very well aware that chances of that happening are slim to none, but hey, you can never be too careful! I even asked our guide if there were any sharks out there and he said: “Yes but they’re all vegetarian” in which I replied: “WHOA! I’m on a raw veggie juice cleanse so I probably look like a vulnerable giant carrot to them!”
I was so busy jumping poles, cleansing, learning life stuff, lymphasizing, bonding with new friends, etc. that I forgot about the open waters until I looked at my calendar and there it was smiling at me. I decided no matter what I’ll go on the boat and get it done. It was never on my list of “to-dos” but there it was adding itself to my fun experiences. I did have a fear of heights which I have mostly overcome, but not aware that this one was a big one too, until I got there!
For starters, when I got up to leave at 6:30 am it was pouring rain like nobody’s business. I tried giving myself some other excuses than getting wet, of course, to cancel but I asked myself, as I do when I’m stuck, “how would I feel if I didn’t get it done?” I felt the regret on the spot; therefore, I was more determined to go. There were supposed to be 24 of us going that morning and only 6 showed up. More open water space for me! YAAAY!
As soon as we got on the boat I felt really seasick – kinda tough on a cleanse and an empty stomach! So I tried concentrating on the ocean but fear made me even queasier. A win/win situation (Photos: notice the half forced smile in one and “I’m about to pass out” look in the other)! What calmed me a bit was when a very dear classmate reassured me that he won’t leave me alone as he had done this many times before. I just had to follow his lead. So we jumped right in and after a few minutes of swimming he pointed to stick my head under the water.
What I saw stopped my breath at least for a few seconds. A new world that I had only seen on TV opened up! So many colourful fishes were swimming underneath my feet, including Nemo, in the clear blue ocean. I think I shed a few happy tears for being brave and open enough to new adventures and toughing it out through nausea and not missing such a spectacular scene by not giving in to my stupid old beliefs and fears.
Ding, Ding, Ding! This is where your thinking wheels should start turning…
You may believe that you only have a few fears to tackle and then something new comes along which makes you realize you have packed up more than you know over the years. Fears are nothing but outdated illusions of incapabilities. Fears are equivalent to endings of adventures you haven’t even started yet or know about. Fears short change you on life.
Do you really want to let a few SECONDS of heart pounding, shakiness, and crazy thoughts shut you out from a LIFETIME of experiencing heart pounding, shakiness, crazy thoughts of fun and happy moments? Hmmmm! Such similar attributes in both situations and both packed with adrenaline! How could that be??? Which do you choose to relate to in your moments of action? Fear or new adventure?
I thought I said I’m going to make these blogs short! 😀
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