Before I left for my family summer vacation on the Big Island of Hawaii, I told my Deaf friends I was going to swim naked with ‘Honu’ – the Hawaiian name for sea turtles. A bona fide workaholic, I had wisely planned a well-earned, long overdue, 2-week vacation to an exotic island and dared to enjoy myself. I was determined to frolic with the turtles, if we could find them. I held that picture confidently in my psyche for weeks in advance, and low and behold, it became a reality! Such is the power of vision and belief! For in the days ahead, I would not see one, but many Honu on our Pacific Island journey! And, just in case you’re wondering… Yes, I swam half-naked with the turtles, and no, you won’t get a picture! Heh-heh!

On the first day, while my husband, son and I were rolling in the surf on a Kona beach, we were soon attracted to a gentle pair of these reptilian sea nymphs swimming gracefully past us in the crystalline-blue water. “Look! Honu!” I signed to the guys across the deafening waves. Knowing and using sign language near the thunderous noise of the pounding beach surf definitely has its advantages. In fact, my family and I enjoyed being able to use ASL under water while we snorkeled all week, making our time and experience under the sea longer and more enjoyable.

The turtles took little notice as we excitedly cruised along behind them. We were close enough to touch their backs. Their shells felt slimy and course. Once my husband and son had seen enough, they returned to the surf on their boogie boards. But I was drawn to stay with these gentle creatures and continued to follow them along the stretch of the beach.

I struggled to pull myself along and keep myself upright against the swelling waves, while envying the turtles that glided effortlessly underneath them. As I pulled myself deeper into the surf behind them, I strained to hold my swimsuit bottoms up! The spirits of the ocean and the tumultuous waves were determined to help me achieve my Aquarian fantasy of swimming naked with the turtles! Several times I was tumbled by the surf only to find my swimsuit off my shoulders, my boobs spilling out, and my pants down to my knees! (“Piha ‘eu ‘oni, ne’e in da kai, brah!” There was some playful motion in the ocean, baby!)

The green sea turtles were so at ease in their aquatic element. My heart slowed while watching the relaxed playmates glide and flow with the surf. For a while, I worried the waves would pound them into the rocks nearby and crack their shells. Yet the more I watched, the less I fretted. The turtles simply bobbed with the surf, and if they were carried into the rocks, they turned it into their advantage by nibbling on the seaweed while there. I quickly learned that the rocky reefs are both a playground and a food source for Honu.

As I studied them further, waves of relaxation passed through me. Like the turtles, I, too, began to ebb and flow with the each wave. After spending time in the water with them, I could no longer feel the edges of my own body. It was as if I were dissolving into the ocean itself. I experienced “Lokahi” – Harmony/Unity/Oneness.

I laughed each time the trusting reptiles would rise to the surface in a cloud of bubbles to take a gulp of air. It was as if they were guffawing at me while I fought the waves. “Ainokea,” they telepathically chuckled. “I have no cares.” This was the lesson of Honu. Learn to let go of worries. Let go of the fight and gracefully flow.

I remembered this again later in the week when we went snorkeling and spotted more Honu. Prior to seeing more of these green sea turtles, I was focused on my leaky mask that dug too deeply into my forehead and too loosely at the lip, the snorkel and band that pinched and pulled my hair, and my son’s complaints that his fins were too tight or full of rocks or sand. I stressed about the salt water that would get into our eyes, my son feeling too cold or getting sunburned. I worried that either he or my husband would go out too far or be smashed against the reef by a stealthy wave, and being Deaf, I wouldn’t be able to hear them call for help.

But these mellow, little, green guys in the water rub off on you. They teach you how to ‘be’ in the water. They teach you how to “shaka” , mellow or hang loose. Not surprisingly, if you use two hands making the ’shaka’ / ‘hang loose’ sign, it translates into the ASL sign for “play.” Like the character, Crush, from Finding Nemo, Honu know how to live playfully, cool and smooth. After all, they have been swimming the world’s oceans for over 200 million years. They have ’shaka’ down and they do it right!

When you spot one, follow it. Within seconds, you find yourself in sync with these gentle dudes and your perspective shifts. They remind you that when you’re stressed and worried, your breathing and heart rate increases and your life experience is just not fun. It’s mental. If you can’t get your mind to play along and your body to flow with the waves of life, you’re going to have a miserable experience. Swimming with Honu helped me put all my focus on relaxing. Eventually, I stopped stressing and learned to embrace sea.

Swimming with the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles reminded me of the importance of stress management. I discovered that if I’m stressed while swimming above or alongside the turtles, my stress causes the turtles stress, which can be life-threatening to them. A relaxed turtle can stay under water easily for 40 minutes to 5 hours, but a turtle under stress can drown within a couple of minutes. I am acutely aware of how this is similar in my daily work, v/blogging and home life as well. How I think, communicate and feel directly influences those around me.

Does the journey make the person, or does the person make the journey? It’s an age-old question. Everything around me seems a bit different now. Maybe it’s jet lag, heh-heh, or maybe my eyes and heart are more open as a result of swimming “kohana” / “naked” with Honu. Just as the journey of becoming Deaf has positively shaped who I am and opened my eyes to a whole other world, I hope that swimming with Honu, the sea turtles in Hawaii, will remain a part of me forever.

(Post text: It was brought to my attention at the end of our first day on the island that it is illegal to touch the sea turtles. I did not know this as a newcomer to the island. Once I learned of the rule, I understood and respected it from then on. It is important to the local people and to the cosmos to give Honu their space. A commenter has privately reminded me of the importance of sharing this information with you all. Education brings the continued peace and survival of this wonderful species.)

Posted by LaRonda on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 5:23 pm.