Sometimes we dive to escape the noise of daily living, but divers are anything but disconnected from life. We are simply looking for something deeper, and we find that depth in scuba diving. In the connection with ourselves, other people, or the creatures we share this planet with: under the surface we connect. We build connection to the world through our diving.
Friendships are forged through diving
Shared enjoyment and common values bring people together. The intensity of the diving experience means you can make friends for life, maybe on a week-long dive trip. When you become a diver you enter a community, and it is one that accepts people quickly. Whoever you are in the outside world and whatever your strengths or struggles, you are a diver, and that makes you one of us.
The family that dives together stays together!
Scuba diving appeals to people of all ages, so it is common for families to dive together. A father and daughter learning to dive together can share this activity for life: she moves from school to university, he retires from work, but through all of life’s transitions they meet up to dive. As children become teenagers, and then adults, the family relationships change, and it’s not always easy to find common ground at times. But a family of divers will always share something, because scuba diving builds family bonds.
Being in the ocean lets you connect with yourself
Connect with your breath by watching the bubbles. Be present with your own experience and maintain your focus. Diving can be your anchor, so that even out of the water you know more about who you are. The further you challenge yourself in scuba diving the more you can learn about yourself and what you are capable of.
Meet other creatures that share our planet
Have you experienced overwhelming awe when watching the flow of life underwater? Forests of kelp sway to and fro, shoals of fish move in synchrony and even corals have things to do! And then there are those special moments, the times when a fellow inhabitant of the planet looks you right in the eye, and you wonder who is watching who!
Dolphins are known to socialize, seals will play like puppy dogs and giant manta rays like to barrel-roll in your bubbles. An octopus is an intelligent invertebrate that will be curious to know your business. And there is nothing like joining a relaxed sea turtle for a little swim in their world.
We connect with water! Our rivers and lakes, our seas and oceans
With every breath we are connected to water, and nobody feels that more than a scuba diver. As divers, we will go far from the shallows when it comes to connecting with what matters most.
It’s time to make unfiltered connections. Learn to dive and you’ll discover your ties with the sea, with your new dive communities and with your dive buddies – family, friends and colleagues alike.
AUTHOR BIO:
Dr Laura Walton is a Clinical Psychologist and PADI IDC Staff Instructor with a fascination for the psychology of diving. Visit scubapsyche to learn more about our behaviour as divers.
