#208: Bioluminescence
In August me and Sarah went to an island in Mexico called Holbox.
We saw bioluminescent algae in the sea, under the stars and it’s the most magical experience I’ve ever had.
One night we kayaked out to a very quiet stretch of the beach.
It was the clearest night sky I’ve ever seen. I could see everything. It felt on top of us, like we were in one of those little glass balls. The stars alone were enough..
Bioluminescent algae is microscopic algae in the water that when it is touched glows in the dark. As we walked on the beach our footprints glowed green. It was astonishing and hard to believe it was real, not man-made like something you’d see at a theme park.
We swam in the sea, with our hands and bodies glowing in the dark. The bioluminescent algae surrounding our movement with a haze of luminous green. A clear starry night and the Milky Way in stillness above us.
It was an outrageous experience
It was unreal
It was amazing
I noticed as I was lying with my head in the water taking it all in, that I wasn’t really taking it all in. I was distancing myself from this world.. I couldn’t believe it was real. I wouldn’t let myself believe it was real.
I couldn’t believe that on our planet, I can run my hand through sea water and my hands will glow.
I couldn’t believe that in our world I could stare up at little lights in the sky that are worlds of their own millions of miles away.
I couldn’t believe that thousands of years ago humans like me asked the same questions and came up with their own answers.
I couldn’t believe that dinosaurs roamed this same earth as me.
I’ve had profound experiences in nature where it’s beauty really smacks you in the face. Yet I often find it easier to accept and see what is broken and in pain, than I do to see what is beautiful and deserves reverence.
This feeling I had was awe. True awe of our world.
This time I didn’t block it out, I let it in..
The world isn’t “like magic”
The world is magical.
I was very lucky to have that experience, it was a very deep connection with nature, where I saw the absolute beauty of our planet and I let it touch me.
Perhaps at the same time, I rekindled some of my own magic? If I can accept that parts of the world are magical, can I accept that parts of me are too?
I’ve always noticed a relationship between myself and the world. What I see outside is often what I’m looking at mostly on the inside.
This time what I saw was so beautiful and special, that I couldn’t help but stare and accept it's brilliance.
There’s beauty in the world all around us. As I was cycling the other day an amber leaf fell from a tree and landed directly on top of my hand, it was a beautiful moment.
Yesterday a feather floated down and I caught it.
Beauty is there, we just have to look for it and find it.
Writing
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Philanthropy & Community Building in Stoke (some of what I'm up to here) - FT
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Who am I?
Writer, founder, husband, always tanned.
Wannabe poet, imposter, taboo buster.
Thinker, philosopher, not a drinker
Joker, chancer, bad dancer.
shoulder chipped Stokie
champagne hippie
Asks questions,
the big ones
best ones.
Always
asking
Who
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