This weekend I had the opportunity to relax. What a blessing relaxation is, a chance to regenerate body, mind and spirit. One of the ways I chose to relax was to go for a kayak ride with a good friend of mine. We loaded up the kayaks on the spur of the moment and headed to a nearby beach.

Launching the kayaks was done in a mangrove area, where there are trails for kayaks and canoes to go through, eventually finding their way to the Gulf Of Mexico. Going through the tiny trail was interesting. My friend I both commented how beautiful it was, the sun finding it’s way through the mangroves in patterns, the tangled roots that reached deep into the water and the occasional crab or lizard crawling up the roots. It was also a bit scary, the trail is narrow and there wasn’t always room for the oars. We found ourselves reaching for roots to move our vessels forward. At times, we could hear one another, but not see one another. We encountered another group heading in the opposite direction and had to make room to pass in area that was too small for one vessel!

Eventually, we found our way out to the most glorious view of the Gulf Of Mexico and nearby spoil islands. We paddled around, swam and had a fabulous time. It seemed to occur to both of us that this adventure was a metaphor for life. We had each other to share and knew we weren’t alone, yet, at times we couldn’t see one another. We saw the beauty in the dark mangrove pathways, yet, we still felt a bit of the fear of the unknown. When we got through the most difficult part of the trails, we came out to such amazing beauty. Still, this beautiful and bright tour of the Gulf, took greater strength to traverse, because of the currents.

Just when we thought we had experienced all the joy and beauty and even lessons we could from this event, something amazing occurred. We were paddling nearby shore, when we heard a deep breath. Immediately to my left, within reach of my kayak was a mother dolphin and her two calves. They rolled up out of the water and back under. They continued by, so peacefully. I turned and followed them for a bit, from a distance. There are those who say that dolphins represent good luck or prosperity. To me, the good luck was just being so close to them in that moment. I definitely felt the abundance of life in that moment.