Spirits Uplifted

I recently had reasons to reflect on the instruction and training that I get involved in and indeed some considerations as to whether I would continue. Work has been challenging amongst other things and you just get to the point where you stop, breathe and start to think through your solutions to whatever is going on in life.

Strangely this is a mantra that also appears in diving as most Open Water students will remember and Rescue Divers should have as second nature. So as with much of life, diving is not just about the sport it teaches you so much more if only you listen.

I also often tell my students as long as you're breathing you are alive and that may be useful to know if you get yourself in trouble. In diving the quality and speed of thinking is often what really matters when it comes down to survival if a problem hits. Just like in life once more! To deal with whatever is thrown at you, you need time and space to breathe and you need to think things through in resourceful state. You also need to understand pretty quickly that whatever got you in the mess was probably your own fault and if you continue making the same mistake things will only get worse. So any diver that gets caught in fishing line and twists to get unstuck may find the result is the opposite of what they wanted. Fighting your way out will leave you more tangled, being angry or panicing will certainly not help, first you have to stop and recognise the problem and that really is as simple as it gets. Stopping what you are doing and breathing, gives you just that space to get to a better place to think and get resourceful.

Choosing the right action to take is often equally straightforward. In diving if you are sensible your buddy will be there when you get in real trouble. Staying close is always so very important because if you look after your buddy they can be there to look after you. There we go again, just as in life when the chips are down having a buddy can make things so much easier and if you chose well a good buddy will listen and understand and maybe see what needs to be done so much quicker than you possibly can. The best buddies in diving know what to do when you are in a mess and act decisively and calmly, like seeing the fishing line that's caught you up and cutting you free to swim away.

On dry land your best buddy's give you space to work it out and often act as a sounding board knowing that you will come to the right answer. I have always known that everything you will ever need is already within, you just need to find it.

When you find yourself struggling against the fishing line and the buddy you always assumed would be there can't be found. Maybe they just spotted something interesting to look at on the reef and couldn't resist taking another photo, then the mantra still applies. The quality decision with fishing line is to act calmly, cut yourself free and swim off making sure you don't swim straight into a similar mess. That means that you now swim off more aware but putting behind you the incident so that you can make the most of the dive. Then you too can go and enjoy the thing that caught your buddy's eye.

So when it came to my diving and I had reasons to consider my future, it didn't take too long, once I breathed and thought through where I was and what I needed to do. I realised the reason I instruct was because when I am giving of myself to others I am rewarded so much more than the cost of giving. I remembered that when I play to my strengths I am at peace with myself. So two weeks ago I started another Open Water course with Laura and Tom. Both young and full of life both inspiring and both through their enjoyment and accomplishment giving me back so very much.

A simple smile from a student quickly reminds me of why I love to instruct and why I will always give more. Like most people I have no idea what the future holds, where my students will dive or what surprises they may have in store. I do know this, they have endless possibility, as we all do, to find whatever they want. I have stopped, breathed, recognised the problems and now I am acting. There is never any good to be had by seeing the issue and not acting, in diving if you did that you may quickly end up dead. In life you may as well be because life can be just as cruel as the sea. As I go back to work today I have a more resourceful approach and rest assured I won't be following the same path that made me have to stop in the first place.

Action is what ultimately gets things going again, the cut of the knife on the fishing line. It is surprising what happens when you act. One action as far as diving is concerned is to keep listening and learning, to meet and give of myself to more students in the future and to do it with a passion because nothing should ever be half hearted.

To Laura and Tom if you should happen to read this, thank you for reminding me what I love, you are both wonderful and your Dad should be very proud.

Love Life and Dive.