Dolphins are So Smart! - What they teach us.

This week I swam with dolphins!  Not just a few dolphins, but hundreds.  The experience literally brought tears to my eyes as I watched the wild Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins swim around, under, and past me, smiling at me in their cute dolphin way.  They squeaked and squealed, as they communicated with each other and because my face was in the water, I got to hear their song.  The sound’s only competition was the sound of my breath frantically going in and out of the snorkel that I had clenched between my teeth.  It is hard to say, “wow” and “unbelievable” with a snorkel in your mouth – but I did.   I was overcome with the beauty and the uniqueness of the experience.  Tears - for real. 

 

Myself and my husband Scott, along with six other passengers were on the ocean tour off the west coast of Hawaii’s Big Island.  The captain of the boat tour, Taylor, and our guide, Victor, are twenty somethings with a wild adventurous side and a love for the ocean.  They dropped us into the water three different times into large groups of dolphins.  We were lucky to see so many and we even got to see them jump and spin above the water. Two of the men in the group had Go-Pro cameras, so I hope to get some of the video from them.  At one point a helicopter circled overhead warning us of a large shark nearby, so we were asked to quickly swim to the boat. I did!

What life lessons did I take away from the dolphins?  (You know I love life lessons…)

Live in the moment!  Dolphins just live.  They take each moment and experience as it comes.  They do not stress and worry about time.  They don’t regret, blame or berate themselves.  They just live.  We spend so much of our time regretting what happened yesterday and worrying about what will happen tomorrow, that we miss what is happening right now.   What do we need to experience and learn in this moment?  We need to live more like dolphins.

Dolphins rely on each other.  When dolphins sleep, they only sleep with half of their brain at a time.  They have to stay half awake at all times in order to breath and monitor their surroundings, so they team up with a friend to allow the right half of their brain to sleep while their friend allows the left half of their brain to sleep.  Each relying and trusting each other for survival. We need to rely on each other and trust, like dolphins.

We spend much of our time with our faces glued to our cell phones, feeling bad about ourselves because we compare our lives to others. We don’t appreciate each moment that we are given, and we forget to enjoy life and just play.  We avoid sharing our struggles with others and don’t lean on our family and friends.   Take your lesson from the beautiful dolphins.

Live and appreciate each moment. Take care of yourself and your friends.  Remember to play.

 “You will love the ocean. It makes you feel small, but not in a bad way. Small because you realize you’re part of something bigger.” - Lauren Miracle

“There's no question dolphins are smarter than humans as they play more.” - Albert Einstein

Dr. Julie Cappel

Some Dolphin Facts: https://hawaiioceanproject.com/10-facts-about-spinner-dolphins/

Hawaiian spinners are primarily three colors. The skin on the dorsal area is a deep gray, while its sides are a lighter shade of gray. The bottom portion of the dolphin is white. The dorsal fin area has small white spots.  Because dolphins need to consciously think about breathing, when they sleep only half of their brain rests at a time. The awake half needs to tell it breathe and monitor its surroundings.  Though the dolphins primarily breathe through their blowholes, Hawaiian spinners have developed a method of breathing without surfacing from the water. They blow a bubble when near the water surface and then quickly draw breath from it. Dolphins are so smart!  When spinning, the dolphins can make up to seven complete rotations in the air! Though no one knows for sure, it’s believed the dolphins spin for the following reasons:

·      To clean their bodies of parasites (this is the most common assumption)

·      For courting members of the opposite sex

·      To communicate with other dolphins

·      For fun!

And they did spin!