Lessons from Dolphins

There is a special, almost spiritual, relationship that exists between humans and dolphins. This month on the Fairy Godmother Adventure to Mozambique, I had the priviledge of swimming with wild dolphins and truly experiencing their beauty, playfulness, sensitivity and compassion in the midst of the warm Indian Ocean.

After this magical experience of swimming with Dolphins, which had a profound effect on all 18 of us in the group, I have no doubt that Dolphins have so much to teach humans. Below are some of their wonderful teachings that I took away with me from these beautiful teachers.

1. Be playful and have fun

Dolphins spend a large amount of their time in joyous exploration of the sea and their surroundings. Whether it is playing in the back-line of the surf or swirling and twirling around each other, they spend most of their days in their element and having fun and being playful.

2. Be curious

When interacting with our group the Dolphins were very curious, particularly if we did interesting things like diving down and whirling and swirling. They came close ot us to look at us and really ‘check us out’. When they are fascinated by something they follow it and I know that I have had the deepest satisfaction during times in my life when I have followed the things that fascinate me. When I am in a state of fascination, I am truly in the joy, magic, wonder and delight of life.

3. The Power of Community

Dolphin pods are true communities, they stick together and while swimming with them I had a sense of strong community and love for each other between these animals. In our fast-paced, often crazy lives we forget the importance and strength of being part of a community. During the 4 days spent with the Dolphins their lessons in community certainly permeated into the group of 18 that was on the Fairy Godmother Adventure. So the question is – who is in your pod?

4. The importance of intimacy and touch to show caring

Dolphins love to touch each other as a display of affection and caring. The mamas often hold their babies underneath them with the tips of their side fins. We witnessed dolphins rubbing up against each other and playing and touching beautifully together to show their affection and caring.

5. A deep sense of compassion

The greatest impact for me after swimming with Dolphins was the deep sense of peace, calm and compassion that I felt as I sat on the boat as we headed to shore and I was left with the feeling that if we as human beings could bring this depth of compassion into our lives and into our communities then all would be perfect in our already perfect world.

(Note: The photos in this blog post were those taken on our trip!)