How many nights have I spent swinging on the hook, lazily gliding back and forth? I don’t know, really. It’s been over a decade since I’ve done it, probably closer to 15 years. Maybe more. But until it stopped, there were many. 100? 200? 500? I honestly can’t say, but many from 1980 until I left my ex in 2007.

We watched the world as it slowed down and went to bed, as if unattached to it. Observing, feeling the flow of the ocean beneath us. Smelling the salt air, feeling the diminishing sea breeze. The lights on the hotels on the barrier islands across the bay, and on the condominiums in town, situated on the water, began to come on, one by one. Soon the world is wrapped in an indigo sky, lit by the bars and restaurants on shore in my little town. We can hear the music and general reverie that is typical of any night here in Gulfport, floating across the now calm water.

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Earlier in the day, I had put on my dolphin charm earrings before we left for the boat, hoping that my spirit animal would appear. It had been a long time since the dolphins greeted us. They came, and two or three of them swam within 50 feet of us for quite a while. Maybe chasing fish to eat, maybe to say hi, we heard you. Because who knows how dolphins communicate? Maybe they can sense our brain wave – heart wave activity and sort it out. Maybe I am an expert manifester. I’m not a believer in coincidence, so I assume there were forces at play here beyond my comprehension. All I know for sure is that they are a sight to behold, these beautiful, graceful creatures of the deep who also breathe air.

Then, as evening fell, we ate our dinner and skipped the wine, I think not wanting to dull our senses from taking in the full panorama of the changing world around us. As the sun lowered in the sky, and the lights began to flicker, senses other than sight became stronger. The now very subdued rocking of the boat in an almost imperceptible breeze somehow connected us to the water, and each other. Even the silence had an ebb and flow to it, connected to our very breath. Watching the sunset was an experience I have had hundreds of times. It never gets old, but it never was better than this time. For him, it was his first time, and for us both, it was very similar, as well as very individual. I was delighted to share it with him, to see and feel his acknowledgment that it was as satisfying, fulfilling, and peaceful for him as it was for me.

There was not much need for words, as we sat beside each other. Unusual, for people who generally talk a lot. But now….watching the sun fall below the horizon, and watching darkness settle over the land, feeling the rise and fall of the ocean, as it has been for the millenia, we sat for long periods of time, taking it all in. The sea was still, so still that it made not a sound. Touching, holding hands, leaning in to each other and then back was enough communication.

We broke from our musing occasionally, and took pictures to try to hold onto that moment. Darkness settled, the world became black and white. Interesting, how darkness can hide somethings, and expose others. The pictures in sequence showed how the colors muted as the sun set, and the one taken at 2 in the morning, shows with clarity the black night, the just-past-full moon reflecting on the calm water, the shoreline in the distance, lit with people’s lives.

In the morning, we awaken before sunrise, to the sound of gently rocking waves lapping the sides of the hull. We watched the reverse of the night, as the world awoke. Sea birds flying, and calling to each other. Fishing boats racing through the bay to the channel, heading out to the fishing grounds. Sky turning from black, to muted grays. The riotous colors of the bars and restaurants on the waterfront began to appear as the sky turned to pink, to orange and finally, blue as the sun rose in the sky. A small school of tiny fish broke the surface as they flitted around, looking for some food I would guess. The gentle rocking of the boat now felt familiar, allowing us to wake in concert with the world, feeling the flow in reverse, as we sat looking at the shore, opposite of the one we watched of the night before.

Yes, an old experience refreshed into a new one. I can never take any of it for granted. Every one is a joy, a blessing to behold.

Love and light to all.