Wow! A whole month has passed since I last wrote. Since then The biggest development has been I received my Open Water SCUBA certification. I am now a NAUI certified SCUBA Diver. Whooohoo!! I received my certificate and my sexy little certification card. 

I actually went back this weekend with my friend who was doing the classes with me for her to do her certification. She passed so we are both feeling very accomplished. 

We’re having a great time with it. The experience is amazing! Swimming among the fish and seeing this whole other world under water is an incredible feeling. There’s no way for me to really explain inwords what it’s like. 

There’s a possibility of another dive in 2 weeks in MoBay so I am looking forward to that. In a couple months I will probably try to take on the Advanced Diver course which will cover some underwater photography and deep diving among other things. Once I’ve done that i will be certified to dive to 130ft. 

I’m having sooo much fun.

In that way that life has of bringing things to you when the time is right, I came across this article this week. In it, Jeff of My Super-Charged Life looks at the life lessons he has gained from scuba diving. Since I just this week successfully completed my written test on my way to open water scuba diving certification and am preparing to head to Negril to complete the certification, this was very timely.

Learning to dive was part of my plan for living a full life as I find learning new things to be a critical element for me. But even within scuba these lessons can definitely apply to the wider world.

1. Breathe continuously - That’s key. Just keep breathing no matter and you will most likely get through whatever challenges you face.
2. The buddy system - We need to have partners in life to help us through, to keep us sane, to enjoy the ride with us. Be they friends, family, lovers, surround yourself with people that can help you through their support.
3. Avoid entanglements - Underwater is definitely not where you want to get entangled, but avoiding that in life can help keep your life simple and stress-free.
4. Know your limits - This keeps you safe underwater and is a good idea out of it. Not that you shouldn’t challenge your limits in life but you must know what they are and keep them in mind so as to ensure you make it through.
5. Have fun - Life should be fun, go out and enjoy it!

I need to structure my life so that I never have to drive on the roads between the hours of:

• 7:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.
• 12 noon and 3 p.m.
• 5:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Ok, I have sat through 3 nights of scuba classroom sessions, learning the theory and principles behind what I have dreamt of doing for a long time. Some nearly 12 hours of information and plenty of reading have led me to this assessment - I need to do this.

Yes, there are dangers and risks involved but just about all of them are within the control of the diver so long as they follow the correct procedure and don’t take silly unnecessary risks. It is not easy and requires a lot of thought and planning to ensure that dive is safe. The equipment that you depend on is heavy and needs detail attention. But all in all, I think this is going to be amazing.

Next week we will finish up the theory and then it’s on to the pool to start practising actual techniques. Then by the end of August we will head for open water for the real thing.

My number one lesson for this week?

JUST KEEP BREATHING

We all have things that we dream of doing - something we have just always wanted to be able to do. For some people when they get the chance to actually do it, the dream turns out to be better than the reality. For others however, the drea only ever scraped the surface - the actual experience is even more powerful, thrilling etc. than expected.

I am standing on the edge of a dream I have had for years. Last night I started the process, and even though it’s only the beginning and I haven’t gotten to the good stuff yet, I am loving it. I am dying to get int the meat of the matter, to get my feet wet The more I hear and talk and learn about it, the more excited I get.

Next weekend I should get the chance to really jump into it and by then I will report on my dream experience.