MANATEES Archives - Page 11 of 11 -

What Would You Do?

By Simone Lipscomb | February 15, 2013

None of us like to think about it but the truth is this: The moment we are born, we begin to die.

Mostly we live our lives without giving ‘it’ much thought. But if we’re faced with the possibility of death, what would we do?

What is important to us? What do we want to do before we leave our body behind and embark on the mysterious journey of whatever comes next? What would be our legacy left behind?

And who would we contact? Who would we reach out to say….I love you?

Such important questions. But facing them isn’t something any of us want to do…not for real anyway.

So what if we chose to face them, without the big “D” facing us but answered as if it was sitting on our shoulder, black hood and sickle at the ready.

My answers, you wonder?

Who is my person? The person knows because I reached out and made contact. It’s not important who it is, but simply that I made contact and shared my feelings.

What I would do? Dive more…spend more time underwater in the place I feel most at home communing with the sea and creatures of the vast ocean.

What else? I would let go of fear and move forward with the strength of a knight to share beauty with the world. I would let go of the grief that has wrapped me like a gray blanket and simply embrace beauty and live within it and express it at every opportunity.

I discovered this week that my greatest fear isn’t death…it is losing beauty. The beauty of our beautiful water planet, of trees, beaches, dolphins, whales, manatees….of clear water, clean air. While the loss and beauty of a lover’s embrace, support and encouragement can be devastating, losing the beauty of nature is ultimately my greatest fear.

Choosing to ask ourselves these questions can free us to live fully and completely and to embrace that which is important to us regardless of the outcome.

Rumi wrote, “Our task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all of the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

Manatee...my heart opens to embrace these darlings — Manatee…my heart opens to embrace these darlings

And Leo Buscaglia said, “Love is always bestowed as a gift freely, willingly and without expectation. We don’t love to be loved. We love to love.”

No matter the destruction wildlife and wild places experience, I choose to love freely–refusing to hold back because I am afraid of them disappearing. No matter that human relationships may not last, I can choose to love because my heart feels love and expect absolutely nothing in return.

It isn’t complicated. It’s quite simple in fact.

I choose love. What will you choose?

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.

Manatees

By Simone Lipscomb | February 14, 2011

As I floated horizontal, on the surface of the water, I saw a mother and baby manatee in the distance. I remained motionless, hovering quietly, with my hands on either side of my video housing. I watched in amazement as they swam toward me. Could they be coming to me? Yes. They swam under me, rubbing their backs against my belly. Still, I remained motionless. No touching, nothing but giggles coming from my snorkel. Then a circle and the mother hovered to my side while the baby continued investigating my dry suit, my face, my hair, my fins. Finally, with no shyness whatsoever, the baby manatee kissed me on the mouth. Maybe it was my snorkel she liked or maybe the high-pitched sounds I was emitting (squeals of delight). It doesn’t matter why the baby chose to interact with me, I feel so blessed that she did.

Why such a feeling of blessing when I have had so many incredible encounters with animals in the oceans or on land? How could this be so special? As my heart was opening wider and wider while the baby was playing with my snorkel, my dry suit, my fins, I thought of the rarity of contact with such an endangered species. Estimates suggest that there are 5000 of this species of manatee left on the planet. What a wondrous moment then to have one learning about humans through me. I was an ambassador for my species. I wanted to show the best of what humans can be by showing respect, being quiet, not touching or feeling greater-than, but rather surrendering to the moment of play this precious one wanted to experience with me.

The ports on my housings provided the most intrigue for my friends…every manatee that chose to interact with me always approached my camera housing port. Some would put their eye up to it, turn around and place their other eye in front of it. They might nuzzle it with their mouth. Remaining passive, calm, quiet, and respectful was my intention and it proved to be challenging because I wanted to embrace these gentle, curious creatures with my arms. Instead I just kept cooing to them, telling them I loved them, giggling, and of course, filming them. My embrace for them came as waves of love flowed from my heart to them…aching for their survival and well-being.

Many manatees carry deep scars from boat propellers on their backs. Some even had scars on their front flippers. There are humans that are asinine in their relating to these slow, gentle creatures by splashing, chasing, poking, or otherwise harassing. They exhibit the worst of what being human means to wild animals. Some boat operators refuse to observe areas set aside as no-wake zones to protect manatees from fast-moving boats. And yet….manatees choose to interact with humans that show respect. It amazes me that they are still able to trust humans. Something I feel incapable of doing for the exact reasons expressed….and countless other violations against nature, against wildlife some humans, in their arrogance and ignorance, display.

Two days of being in the presence of these remarkable beings gave me much to think on. The lessons I take away will continue to unfold as I remember their eyes staring into my soul, their whiskers tickling my face, the soft noses and mouths exploring my cameras. Probably the most incredible moment was when I was laying on top of the water, both hands grasping my camera, and a baby tucked his head behind my arm as if looking for a place to nurse. (Manatee mom’s nurse their babies at the base of their flippers). How blessed I felt that this little one felt safe enough, as did his mother, to inspect this human and learn about the strange creatures who visit their underwater realm.