The Whale – Story of Giving and Receiving

On the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle, there was a true story about a female humpback whale who had become emeshed in an underwater jungle of crab traps and lines.  The whale was weighed down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle just to stay afloat.  She also had miles of line rope wrapped around her entire body, including her tail, torso, and a line tugging inside of her mouth.  Under these conditions, she was sure to die.

A fisherman spotted her and radioed an environmental group for help.  Within a few short hours, the rescue team arrived.  Upon their assessment, they determined that she was in such critical condition the only way to save her was for divers to manually untangle her.  This was an extremely dangerous situation for the divers.  One slap of her tail would kill a rescuer.  Despite these potential life-threatening conditions, there were more than enough divers volunteering for this sensitive and dangerous rescue.

The divers worked for hours and eventually freed her.  When the whale was free, the divers reported that she swam in playful, joyous circles as if to show her gratitude to these special rescuers.  Then, she came back to each diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed gently around thanking them individually. 

When interviewed, the divers reported it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.  The diver that cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the entire time, and he will never be the same for that life-altering experience. 

To be surrounded by people in your life that will help you get untangled from the things that bind you brings deep happiness.  May you always know the joy of giving and receiving the gift of deep gratitude.

Believe In Yourself,
Cathy