What I Learned Swimming with Dolphins

I just returned from a week in the Bahamas, swimming with dolphins, that has helped to frame the future I want to have.

The trip was organized and led by Anne Gordon, who leads whale and dolphin retreats (https://www.whaleanddolphinwisdomretreats.com/). If this sounds strange, the rest of this post probably won’t resonate for you, either.

I felt that I had something to learn so I went, and found myself in a pod of similarly minded people.

We shared amazing experiences, from snorkeling in beautiful reefs to learning the lore of the Bermuda Triangle, to dancing with dolphins. Here are three lessons that I learned:

• Bottle-nose dolphins are shy and keep their distance from people, so they are hard to approach in the water. We found them on days when the wind was blowing and the water was choppy, surfing the waves. We were in a catamaran and came upon them surfing the waves right up to the bow of our boat. Life lesson: when the going gets tough and the waves get rough, find joy in surfing and playing. Ride the waves instead of trying to fight them.

• The spotted dolphins in this area are more accustomed to seeing snorkelers in their midst than the bottle-nose. What they love most are those individuals who freedive, so they can join them and swim with them. When this happens, a magical ballet can occur between diver and dolphin. I would not have believed it if I hadn’t seen it. Life lesson: if we meet these magical creatures in the depths of their element, they will dance with us. As in life, those who meet us in our element are our dance partners.

• Dolphins use their sonar not only to find food, but to see through their podmates, and humans. Nothing is hidden and there are no secrets. They’ve been known to bump people aggessively to let them know they have dangerous tumors. Life lesson: what might we all gain if we were transparent in who we are with our podmates?

These are just a few of the life lessons I learned swimming with the dolphins. I’ve returned to my desk with the goal of being more dolphin-like, swimming every day with all my heart, playing through the rough waters I experience, and reveling in the new pod of friends I find along the way.