I have just come from the Philippines where I was snorkelling and diving on the tropical reefs. It reminded me of the first time I found myself in tropical water, 22 years ago, in Barbados, at the beginning of my first round-the-world trip. To be in warm sea water was such a strange and pleasant experience, having grown up in the UK. The best thing, though, about that time in the Caribbean, was snorkelling out over the coral reef. Suddenly I was transported to a completely different world – the intricate corals, the colourful fish and all the other weird and wonderful sea creatures were a new experience for me. Of course I had seen pictures and television programmes about such things but seeing it for myself, it still came as a wonderful surprise. And even to this day, whenever I find myself above a tropical reef, there is something of that feeling of wonder in me. Who would suspect, looking at the water from land, that such a world exists beneath the waves?
All of this reminds me of the spiritual side of life. When we are living a materialistic life, looking around all we see is the material. We don’t suspect that there is another world there – a world of mystery and wonder, a world of amazing surprises. Yet there it is, waiting for us to take a look under the surface ripples of life. Let’s take the plunge!
