Dolphins and Going Deeper
“This challenging time we are living through now may actually be a spiritual gift for us. Maybe the invitation from the Spirit within us is to see this time as a precious opportunity to go deeper, to discover a rich and wondrous world within us to be explored, with the Spirit as our guide.”—Br. Geoffrey Tristram SSJE. Society of St. John the Evangelist.
We arise early to get a good view of the pageantry of the sea, waking up at the Gulf of Mexico. We are not disappointed. The ocean is almost motionless, like a sheet of blue-green glass stretching as far as we can see in every direction. Only a few dolphins have been visible since we arrived. They come out in droves this morning. Finally, a huge dolphin from the pod comes too near the water’s edge. We worry he will beach on the sand, but he knows what he is doing. My husband first thinks he is a shark, but alas, he is the majestic black creature from the deep with sonar vision that we now see up close.
Why do I so love dolphins? They live predominately beneath the surface, and then rhythmically glide above water in a circular dance movement and back down. They are the water ballet of the sea. We see them best when the waves are stilled, not choppy, as they are this early morning.
As I read this morning’s words from Brother Tristram, I realize the dolphins may be a metaphor for the trip of our soul, our journey to the unconscious, the ground of our being as the Spirit leads us to the Christ deep within us. Our journey is easier to observe if the waters of our lives are calm and still. When the waves are too high and the weather is stormy, the parts of ourselves showing us the path may be less visible.
We must find a sacred place each day away from the choppy waters of our lives, where the sea is stilled. We do not necessarily have to be alone. We can find this place in community with spiritual friends. There, we are renewed and then return to the sea for new adventures. We also need to return intermittently to this place, even for brief minutes, for renewal during the day. We can go deeper each time, but we must always come back up to breathe.
Joanna Seibert https://www.joannaseibert.com/