As the roaring waves of the sea crashed against my feet in the summer of 2018, I realized I had to make a life-altering decision in that moment.
Since my early childhood, I had always been afraid of deep water. My mom made me join swimming classes every summer vacation but I could possibly never cross the 4 feet mark.
Three swimming tutors later, my mother gave up. And somewhere deep down, I gave up on myself too.
But that day, standing in front of the vast ocean, I asked myself- for how long am I going to let my fear control me?
And with that thought in mind, I agreed to go for my first scuba diving experience.
With shaking fingers and raging emotions, I put on the diving suit and headed towards the vast ocean with my instructor.
As he took my hand and we descended into the cold water, the bright beautiful sea slowly darkened.
For the first five minutes, I did not take my eyes off my instructor as he seemed like my only hope in this vast ocean. But as I slowly sank down, I took a look at the life buzzing around me.
Nearly 10 metres down in the depths of the Indian Ocean, the world I saw, was totally magical. And I remember I stopped breathing.
It was not through fear anymore but from sheer wonder and amazement. The world slowed down as I tried to savor every moment, remember every detail.
It was much more beautiful than I had ever imagined. And the tranquility was just unparalleled – something that I had never found even in the most isolated and quiet parts of my own home.
I saw countless fishes dancing in and out of my sight, taking different forms and shapes.
I looked in absolute wonderment as the crabs slowly crawled on the seabed and the colorful parrot fishes appeared out of nowhere and started eating algae off of coral reefs.
Life underwater is beautiful and what makes it even more amazing is that being there in that moment, makes you feel like you are a part of it too.
Away from the commotion and clutter of my daily life, I found the calm of the sea almost unbelievable, a place I didn’t want to leave.
The vast nothingness of the ocean and the ever-widening silence made me come to terms with the real motive behind life.
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In that moment, it didn’t matter to me what my 12th board result was gonna be like, it didn’t matter to me whether I would get into my dream college or not, in that magical moment, I swear, nothing mattered anymore.
It was as if life had suddenly stopped in front of my eyes. As if all my worries and anxiety had come to rest.
All I could see and potentially all that mattered then was this beautiful underwater life buzzing with excitement around me. And being able to feel all these surreal emotions was indeed, for lack of a better word – heavenly.
It was more beautiful than any city, any town, any sunset that I had ever witnessed in this life before.
The depths of the beautiful blue sea not only helped me get rid of my fear, but it also taught me some of the most important lessons of my life, lessons I still follow to this very day.
I learned that something can only trouble you as much as you allow it to trouble you. The day you decide you are bigger than your problem, the problem will cease to exist.
The countless fishes and sea creatures dancing around me taught me that I am an extremely small, almost negligible part of this big big universe and if I am so tiny and small, my problems are probably not even a fraction of me.
So, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter whether ten years from now you own that big beautiful house on the beach side, it doesn’t matter whether you earn in dollars or pounds, all that matters is you, and your happiness.
If every once a while, you’re able to take a dive into the roaring sea and catch a glimpse of the setting sun, you’ll be fine, with or without that penthouse on the beach.
Take a dive, take back an experience of a lifetime!
Image Credits: Google Images
Find the blogger at @MoulshreeS
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