Life, Dive and Learning Discovery
One night my best mate and principal instructor asked me if I was available to sub a group of nice young family for teaching in preparation for their first time for the ocean on following days. It was not unusual in life and at sea where one could come across unexpected moments that eventually become a wonder. Little do we know how much a day that is about to go by would affect our lives, and that’s the beauty of knowing the unknowns.
Photography by Jacques de Vos
Teaching SCUBA diving is a self-discovery. We often meet wonderful people, who some time developed into most exciting, interesting friends we could never have the privilege of knowing. Learning to dive is an exploration of what’s inside rather than what’s coming onto you. Each week we have lessons on the theory of diving, the risks, and the changes in anatomy and the physics behind the theories. We train in the pool with the diving equipment. Everything is more of an encouragement than just knowledge and skills. Most instructor is blissful seeing their students pulled together, praised each other for achievements and laughed and joked at each other’s failures. Fears and anxieties were discussed and overcome together and eventually new friendships within were formed.
Then, the big day came; a first dive in the sea. With a little anxiety and a lot of excitement, one dived a shallow dive onto a-never-been before feeling of weightlessness and freedom, the feeling of open spaces with no people, no cars, no limitations. One’s mood was lifted. A new world was not yet explored in the first dive, but an inner-self was already discovered.
Discovery is more than just finding something new. When it comes to deep sea diving, it’s more than just leaving the past times behind. Discovery can become a beautiful chance, a chance to embrace life and be the best you can be. A chance to again re-discover yourself, re-ignite your charge, re-gain your confidence and use your knowledge and past experience in a fresh positive way.
People can see the light only if they have known the dark. Without the dark, light would be meaningless. This chance might not have been there without the dark, the light and all the experiences.
A big day just came, something bigger always remains.
