Day 31 - The drift dive of life

Today, I overslept and missed my dive boat. Funny that you can oversleep even on vacation. It's understandable though when you need to wake up at 6AM to catch the boat. Well, at least I have to wake up at 6AM to catch the boat that comes to pick us up at 7.30AM. Some people can get out of bed at 7.25 and be fine. I have always needed to take my sweet time in the morning. I need to get through my little morning ritual first: drink tea, have breakfast, read emails, select my google quote of the day, check Facebook. And then and only then am I ready to get out of the house to do anything. Of course, I am not compulsive enough to not being able to skip all of this, I just prefer to do it this way.

Anyway, today I really overslept. Woke up at 8AM, when the boat was long gone. Or so I thought. But apparently, the weather conditions were so terrible again, that the port was closed for the smaller boats and only one big boat went out. However, apparently this time it wasn't as much fun as last Saturday. Only 7 people were on the boat, and the sea was so choppy that all the 7 were violently sick, and asked to be dropped off at a very far away beach after the dives - they preferred to take a taxi back home rather than endure another rough boat ride. So worked out well for me, in the end.

There are two basic types of recreational diving: drift and non-drift (maybe there's a special term for the non-drift one, I'm not sure). When you do non-drift diving, the boat anchors in some area, you descend, dive, and then return to the boat. At times, that involves some rigorous work as the current or a tide may play against you on your way to or from the boat. Although drift diving is considered a specialty and requires some additional training, to me it's a much easier dive. You descend in the middle of the open water and fly with the current. The boat doesn't anchor but rather follows your bubbles and the current. When the dive is over, you (or a dive master of your group) inflate a marker buoy (also known as a "safety sausage", a term that always makes me giggle like I'm a 12-year old), and the boat picks you up. All you have to do is follow the drift, and trust that your boat captain is not asleep and will pick you up when you are ready to leave the water.

Today, I compare quality life to a drift dive. Go with the flow, make no unnecessary movements, don't overexert yourself trying to swim against the current - in the end, your immense effort will only gain a minimal distance coverage. I'm getting more and more convinced that if you just allow yourself to relax into the flow of life, everything will somehow work out for your good. No strict plans. No running around like crazy trying to make sure you put checkmarks next to all the things to see and do on your list. No expectations. This recipe seems to be yielding amazing emotional results. At least, for me.

During dinner at la Choza, the dive master I was with recognized a guy who was having dinner at a table next to ours. Apparently, this guy used to come to Cozumel all the time for 15-20 years and they dived together a lot. The guy just exuded happiness. It was a soothing pleasure to be in his presence. In the course of out conversation, it turned out that he got early retirement because he has... lymphoma. I was stunned by the way he announced it: very matter-of-factly, just stating the diagnosis, the same way as some would say, "I decided to retire early because I have been investing well, and now I can afford it". Javier (the dive master) probed him with questions about various treatments, to which the guy kept responding, "Incurable", with a happy nod and an accepting smile. He told us that he didn't want to go through any surgical procedures (until absolutely necessary, because at one point, apparently, it will be), and now he and his wife would just travel and enjoy being together until all his systems fail and he has to go. Frankly, I'm not sure what to take out from this episode. but one thing was definitely real - the almost tangible joy of life that he carries about himself, the absolute absence of bitterness. It looks like he's enjoying the flow of his life, even now, when he realizes pretty damn well where it's taking him at this very moment.