I continue to be on a new journey in my life since my late husband passed away over a year and a half ago.  Swimming has always been a passion of mine , especially in the ocean.  I recently remembered that one of my life long dreams has been to participate in an open water swim event , so I’ve been trying to get some practice and training time in by going to my favorite beach as often as I can.  For me , to try to describe the feelings I get when I go under the water seems almost impossible because I have so many of them. As soon as I go under water it almost feels enchanting, magical, spiritual, but especially so very full of life and energy.  It’s as if I am truly entering into a whole new world. Recently I’ve been training to increase my  swimming endurance as well as my confidence to go out farther into the deep parts of the ocean to increase my distance swimming as well.  This has been a little daunting for me to get past a certain area to increase my distance in deep water.  I’m trying to overcome a little bit of fear , as this is a new experience for me. So today was just another day of training for me, or so I thought. 

As I entered the ocean, I put my goggles on and I ducked down under the water.  As soon as my head was under water , I had a memory flash of a dream that I had just last night. The vision of my dream was so strong.  I had dreamed about swimming in the ocean and a dolphin swam straight up to me and looked at me.  In my dream , I could sense that she wanted me to follow her out in the deep water.  I remembered feeling peaceful and happy in my dream.  I began to do my swim training and made it to the third buoy like I’ve been doing each swim session.  This is the place where I get stuck because I have a hesitation to go out into the very deep.  So I turned around like I’ve been doing and I swam back and forth to train, so to at least increase my endurance. After about an hour  and a half, I felt a bit tired so I got out and headed for the shore.  As I was heading to the outside shower to rinse off , the guy ahead of me said “ Hey did you see the dolphins?” .  I told him that I had not . He said “ You’ve got to go back in and see them!”.  “ Mmmmm, should I?” I thought. I made my way back to the shore.  Even though I’ve had a life long dream to participate  in an open water swim event , swimming with dolphins has been a deeper passion that surpassed any other dream that I have ever had .  “ Should I try to go back out in the water ?” I thought.  I could see snorkelers and a small boat far out in the distance . “ Why not! I’m going to at least try!” I said to myself .  So off I went .  As I got to the third buoy , I just kept going. I headed for the deep water without any hesitation.  As I continued to swim, I began to wonder if I would see any dolphins. I was hoping that I could get out there before they decided to swim away.  I said a little prayer deep in my heart.  “ Please God let me see at least one dolphin please!”.

I finally reached the area with the other snorkelers , so I stopped swimming and began to just tread water.  Again,I said “ Please God let me just see one dolphin”. Then I remembered that dolphins are very perceptive so I sent them a mental message too. Which was something like “ Please come swim close to me so I can see you!” . I was hoping to see them but it was so beautiful I was just happy to be there.  At that moment , I decided to look under the water.  All I could see was beautiful blue green water. It was so peaceful , so I just floated there for a few seconds.  Then all of a sudden…. Out of the corner of my eye …. I could see something.  As I stared at it , I barely could believe  what I saw!  Not one…. But many dolphins were swimming right underneath me! I tried to count them as they took my breath away! I lifted my head to get a breath of air and I could see dolphins above the water !  There were so many of them! They seemed to be circling me.  I went back under the water and I saw so many dolphins swimming underneath me, then in front of me, then behind me ! There were so many that I couldn’t even count them! Everywhere I looked there were dolphins! My heart felt overwhelmed with joy and thanksgiving. I looked at the other snorkeler and asked him how many dolphins were swimming with us .  He said at least fifty! 

I had asked God to see one dolphin and he gave me fifty! I knew that I knew that I knew that this was a gift just for me.  I spent the next two hours in total awe swimming with these dolphins.  They stayed near and around me the whole time.  It felt so surreal. I wanted to remember every moment.  After a while , I headed back towards the shore. As I got to the third buoy , I realized just how far I had actually swam out to be with the dolphins.  I had done it! I had actually gone past the third buoy with no hesitation and no fear.  Then I remembered my dream again.  What are the chances that I just had a dream about a dolphin trying to get me to swim out into the deep and then the very next day actually getting to do just that?

I knew deep in my soul that it had been a “ prompting” or a “ gut feeling” moment or a sign or “ bread crumbs” leading me to this moment.  As I swam back to shore ,  I began to put all the pieces or steps together in my mind.  I had been trying and trying to overcome a “ hesitation “ to go out into the very deep ocean water , I had a deep life long passion to swim with dolphins, I had a dream about a dolphin actually encouraging me to follow her out into the deep , the man at the outdoor showers  told me about the dolphins in the water, and then I felt the “ prompting “ to actually go back out into the water to take a chance.  I had also asked God to please let me see just one dolphin and I even tried to send a mental message to the dolphins themselves !   I asked to swim with one dolphin and I got to swim with fifty! Also I was able to overcome my fear of swimming past the third buoy into the deep so I can compete in the open water swim event!  I swam back to shore with a full and overflowing heart! I believe that this day may have been one of the best days of my life!