"As above, so below"

“A sense of wonder, a sense of light, a sense of humility in this life.”

As one travels across the oceans, rivers, countries, and mountains… I’m always taken back to the magical state that lies beneath the blue, where another world unfamiliar to me is living a life that rings true.

There’s a saying of, "as above so below," which carries various meanings of reality, yet for me it's Nature's relationship between us, including the bridge that crosses our land living with the seas' existence.

This saying has traveled through time, and I imagine what lies above the surface of the ocean merely touches a glimpse of the magic that's living beneath the waves. A mystery, like all mysteries that's waiting for us to explore and discover its stories, wonder, and secrets.

I wonder, do we see our rippling effects on land below the deep blue?

In my basic black bikini and rashguard top, I ride my 1-speed bike, (more like coasting) down the hill to the beach side and armed with my snorkel, Cressi mask and fins, I attach my new GoPro Hero 8 camera to the end of a gripped pole, giving sealife their room to breathe underwater.

Whether it be the floating ocean plastics, discarded beach trash, or a fishing hook embedded into a passing sea turtle's neck, I see that our humanly presence is already there, like the waves continually lapping upon the sea shore.

The truth about us and our life's story is that it's always unfolding... and what motivates me into diving under the salty waves, as opposed to staying on a surfboard on top, is an alluring desire to connect with that bridge of life, the "as above, so below" reality.

Beneath the blue, I'm holding my breath while small bubbles are rising, and I continue doing this over a multitude of mini-dives in order to experience the awe and wonder the sea is showing me... revealing in her deep reverie.

This image is more than words to me, because I use the minimal amount of equipment, a GoPro Hero 8 and me. No fancy lights, camera, or action. It's just Nature telling me the truth about what's going on... the state of our seas living before me. Over the past 5 years, I've snorkeled to this little ecosystem of algae and fragments of coral growing on a metal and cement pole, with fish life occasional darting in and out of the yellow kelp. Watching over time, this one lone pole is changing with the currents, waves, and ocean tides to tell a story of hope...

At times I thought this little community wouldn't make it from all the island's silt runoff, and millions of tourists' sunscreen pollution smothering it. Thankfully, this image was taken in the past month of June, 2020 with signs of renewal.

I posted this image over social media channels in waves of inspiring friends and visitors to see, as in "I SEA YOU!" This one piece of life beneath the waves telling her story... a story about the sea holding on and really, trying to carry on... like we all need to be reminded from time to time.

Nature, especially the ocean is "re"minding us that there is hope in life's natural flow, with regeneration and many other "re"eeeees; again and again in positive ways, exactly like the ebb and flow of ocean waves! Reefs, revival, reset, reunion, remember, rejuvenate, refurbish, retrace, relax, regard, and always reconnecting us back to the very breaths we're taking... let those be in kindness and care, for one another and our planet."

On an extra happy note: "Re" in the French language means to see again... in short, a "hi again!"

So here's the image again!