Wander Water

“…the diver finds deep immersion the ultimate gentle release, a homecoming in an element where they have known only joy.” - excerpt from NEUTRAL BUOYANCY by Tim Ecott -

I’m sure I’m not the only diver out there that finds solace and peace under the surface of the sea. I tell non-divers that the underwater world is my church, where I go to meditate and put my life into perspective. It’s really the only place I’ve ever felt 100% at home, where I belong, and where I’m the happiest. Just the ocean, the sound of the sea and my bubbles, and the gentle squeezing of the water as I hover in the water column, not kicking or moving, just existing in serenity, for as long as my air lasts.

Non-divers always, without fail, ask me if I’m not afraid of dying while in the ocean’s embrace, they see the ocean as something huge, dark and frightening, they’ll never understand the peace I experience when I’m down there. I try to describe it, try to explain, but there really aren’t any words, or actions, that can be used to enlighten them, so I usually end up stopping in mid-sentence, smiling and shaking my head, you can’t understand if you don’t go under. I just tell them that there are worse ways to die, and to cross the line to the other side while under the sea wouldn’t be so bad… it would feel like a homecoming.