"Man has always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much...the wheel, New York, wars, and so on...while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man...
for precisely the same reason."
~Douglas Adams
Ah...dolphins...truly some of this planet's most awesome creatures. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to swim with dolphins in two very different settings. My first experience was at the Dolphin Research Center in the Florida keys, where people can swim with trained dolphins in a lagoon (after receiving training in dolphin etiquette; what to do and not do in their presence). I had such fun, and it seemed like they were having fun too.
I was taken for a ride around the lagoon by two dolphins who swam up behind me, allowing me to grab hold of their dorsal fins, and pulled me through the water at a fairly high speed. At the end of our swim together, I got a very special treat. I was instructed to hold on to the dock with one hand and hold out my other hand and wait for a dolphin to swim up and place its 'beak' in my hand. Somewhere there is a photo of me receiving a dolphin kiss on the cheek!
My second experience was swimming with a pod of spinner dolphins in Kealakekua Bay on Hawaii's Kona coast. My brother-in-law, who used to live there, swam with dolphins regularly. He came to recognize them and even had names for them. They would eagerly include him in their group play. He and I went out snorkeling one day and happened upon a 'sleepy pod' of spinner dolphins, lazily swimming in a large circle near us. As they were sleeping and not in a mood for play, I only got to watch them swim by, quite near to us, almost close enough to touch. It was a magical moment. It's difficult to explain the energy one feels in their presence. It just feels like a blessing.
I do have a film to recommend: MacGillivray Freeman's Dolphins, originally created for IMAX in 2000, featuring songs and music by Sting (available in DVD). This fascinating documentary, with stunning cinematography, reveals much about the lives of these amazing creatures. If you haven't thought much about dolphins, you will fall in love with them after watching this film.
Dolphins have much to teach us about living in harmony and community, and about playfulness. How they love to play. As this film points out, dolphins spend 20% of their time working (hunting for food)...coordinating efforts to maximize efficiency...and 80% of their time playing. They are extremely intelligent. Carl Sagan has quipped: "It is of interest to note that while some dolphins are reported to have learned English—up to fifty words used in correct context—no human being has been reported to have learned dolphinese".
If I want to smile, all I have to do is think about dolphins, and recall the magical moments I have been blessed to spend in their presence. Today I am feeling deep gratitude for these intelligent, creative, playful creatures of the sea.
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