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Communion

By Simone Lipscomb | January 30, 2013

Curious about the SUP board, the juvenile says hello.

It is no secret to anyone who knows me that my best friends are finned or flippered, feathered or furred. My heart is touched by an encounter with wild dolphins or a gentle nuzzle of a manatee in ways that surpass any human connection. Maybe that’s why men I’ve shared my life with have moved on…never content to come second after my love of wild animals. Connection with all creatures wild is my Communion, a way to rise above the mundane and connect deeper, more fully with beings more evolved than humans. (Personal bias).

Today I received an early-morning call from a friend and she tearfully expressed her love of the woods surrounding her home was about to be logged, destroyed so the landowner could purchase a vehicle for his son. How can you put a price like that on a sacred woodland? When will humans learn that the planet is not a commodity to be pillaged, a land to rape for spoils but rather a sacred cathedral?

The mentality of profit at any cost is not a luxury we can afford any longer.

Joanna Macy’s teachings come to mind. She explains the necessary evolution from a life-taking society to a life-sustaining society. We are in a time of moving from a profit-at-any-cost world to a life-sustaining world. We are in the middle of the dissolution of the old way and are awakening to the reality of the mess we’re in economically, socially, environmentally. And within the mess, within the reality of how we have treated the planet and each other, we find positive change occurring. Many, many people are choosing to act from a place of responsibility, a place of compassion and love. We are waking up to the idea that it is possible to live in balance with respect for all life.

Wildlife reminds me of the connection we have to the whole. The manatees scarred by propellers remind me that humans still have a huge impact on fragile species, that we have done great harm to our planet. And when I see volunteers paddling their kayaks, overseeing interactions with these gentle beings and acting as protectors, hope is refueled.

While snorkeling recently, a juvenile manatee came to me and demanded my attention. My goal is passive observation, in or out of the water, but while filming them, one insisted on connecting face-to-face and drew me out from behind the camera. He swam in front of me, stopped and I felt his gentle spirit guiding me to remove the camera from between us and commune, one wild heart to another. I gently placed my hand aside his face and channeled as much love as I could to him and his kind. And I listened in silence to him.

In those moments we were one with each other. There was no me, no him. In that neutral stillness was birthed understanding. Deep, profound understanding.

As we parted, sobs wracked my body and soul for the trust demonstrated by a species so abused and wounded by humans. The future of this planet is in our hands. That is both frightening and empowering. What will we do to create a better world? Will we do anything?

It can start with daily communion with the natural world. Let it show us our next step each day.

He checked out my dry suit, my fins, my snorkel, my camera...always learning more about humans, these little ones. — He checked out my dry suit, my fins, my snorkel, my camera…always learning more about humans, these little ones.

Hello Again

By Simone Lipscomb | January 25, 2013

Today I went on a search for a friend I met two years ago. He was a tiny tot back then, all round and chubby with cute little whiskers and eyes that seemed to peer into my soul. He chewed on my underwater camera housing, sucked on my hair as it floated in the water and photo bombed every other shot I took of manatees that were around us. I have shared his video and photographs with school children and adults and have shared the serious plight of the West Indian manatee with those who would listen.

I put my board in King’s Bay and paddled around until I got my bearings. After several false starts (paddling into canals with dead ends) and hiding from the ferocious wind, I noticed the bridge. I headed with a crosswind to the bridge and up the canal. And sure enough, found Three Sisters Springs.

As I navigated the narrow channel into the springs, I saw layers of manatees resting on the bottom. When I arrived at the open area of crystal clear springs, I allowed my board to float and simply quieted my mind and waited.

I could hear the sharp exhalations all around me as they surfaced to breathe. And finally, my little friend found me.

"Can I catch a ride on this cool board?" — “Can I catch a ride on this cool board?”

He was somewhat shy at first and then took his time to explore my paddle board. He swam under it, nosed the fin, nosed the nose, balanced it on his broadened back. My buddy and I were connecting once again.

Last time I was here I was snorkeling in a dry suit and he explored every inch of it as I lay flat on the water, video housing stretched out in front of me. He sucked my hair and even tried to nurse under my arm (where babies nurse on their moms).

"Hello again, Simone. Did you say all the third graders at Gulf Shores school know me?"" — “Hello again, Simone. Did you say all the third graders at Gulf Shores school know me?””

He has grown significantly in two years. I saw a mom and small baby nursing and a few other small ones asleep on the bottom. But my buddy and I….well….let’s just say he now knows he is a rock star with third graders from Gulf Shores Elementary School and he’s not surprised. He is, after all, the most delightful manatee I’ve ever known.

"Hello little one! Good to see you again!!" — “Hello little one! Good to see you again!!”

I wonder if he understands there are less than 5000 of his kind left on the planet. Or if he wonders if the propeller scars on his friends back will heal. Most likely he’s just grooving on being an adolescent manatee full of curiosity and life.

My heart is joyful as I await two mornings of snorkeling with these delightful and beautiful beings. Dreaming manatee dreams.