MY Why behind Being Hooked On Waterfolk
If one dives into my sea, for shore one has a fin-terest in waterfolk. I do, it is one of my special fin-terests, actually the most prominent one.
In my fintroduction, I mention I would like to be an actual waterperson. This is me and I wish I came from the sea. Now, a genuine question would be why specifically that. Someone, a person I did not know pretty well, in my life had asked me that and I ashore that this answer may be of benefit to more people, even if it is just my own stream of thoughts. Keep in mind I have not studied anything like philosophy or psychology so take my words with some grains of sea salt since I attempt to dive into the minds' depths. It is up to oneself how one dives into what I say. I will just offer my thoughts and one can think of them what one thinks of them. I just claim what feels true for myself.
I have been drawn to water since my earliest tides. In my landlocked home, there were sundries of blues that I adored. Blueish things were something that I felt drawn to the most. Still, in my residence, not many things were blueish or something aquatic, yet so many things stood out to me that were. I especially felt connected to some reflecting turquoise wind chimes in the bathroom with some turquoise, green and yellow tile decoration on the walls. Around the house were some seashells scattered and I liked those. Outside the residence was a pillar with greenish blue fish and from that pillar's tip water could spout and to that I felt a connection, too. It was so whimsical. When we would drive, I would point out all blue street signs and I liked anything blue. Many of my ancestors such as one of my parents and grandparents have had affinities for the color blue already. I loved to swim in local pools and that was when I felt the most at peace, honestly. I would not dare to come out of those waters or the shower even. I always loved to go swimming and finteract with water. I wanted to stay for hours. Anyhow, I wonder... why so? Even if it could just be nostalgia, why did I feel so connected to those things specifically? This connection is not just nostalgia of my earliest tides of time here. It is something more profound at tides.
Over the last years I have read more in-depth literature and recognized the powerful aspects of water to deeper extents. For me, water is a sublime and almost sacred force. I sea it as something primal or at least naval since we are created in a fluid-like environment in the womb. I think that it may bring me back to when I was still in the womb, but it could also maybe dive further. According to some scientific theories and mythological or religious records, life came from water. The ocean may be the womb of life from whence one came. Earth is the cup or vessel in which this womb is held. It is a timeless force of life. My ancestors may be gone, but our highly possible origin, the ocean, is not, nor is the sun. I adore the freedom one is able to experience in water. One can float and swim, unrestrained by gravity. It is like a portal to another realm, one without the constraints of the shore. While the same connection of that could be made to the womb, I feel like that feeling is a form of longing for freedom in an often restrictive life ashore, especially in society where much is expected of one to fit into specific customs, at least for me. Water is something liminal. It is an anchor which can be risen or sunken, either positive or negative. Water can nourish, yet it can also destroy. It is a force of life which is changeable and ambiguous. It is like a person who can be in worse or better moods. In all of water, I see myself. Water is a carrier of wisdom and depths, fin-cluding the subconscious. Its reflections are me and I am like water, fluid, ambiguous, and changeable. Many say water is a classical element of emotion. It is a wild and free force. For me, it is life. While it is fluid and cannot take hold, it is strong and its streams can form rocks and canyons wherever the water leads. Its properties are cleansing and healing. It is calming and listening to its harmonies soothes me deeply. It has so much beauty. It is elegant and flows through life with ease despite being powerful and capable of destruction. It holds depth, wisdom, and emotion. To me, it is a balanced force in its liminal state, capable of shifting into anything like us. I see water as an important universal force that binds almost everything here.
On the 30th March of this year I also had a rather surreal, yet calming experience again I found fin-teresting. When I was about to drift off, I somehow heard an underwater ambiance coming from my right ear while I was resting on my right side. It sounded real and resembled an ambiance I was familiar with. I could hear bubbling and waves. I assume it may have been an illusion. I did not use any ambient sounds and no one else did alongside. Other people were far away and the only one I was with did not do so at all. I never use ambient sounds by myself. It surely was an illusion because the mind was in that state where it drifts off and I was also a bit tired. Still and all, that was one of such moments when I remembered how much I adored being under the waters. That moment was the only time I heard something unusual like that before drifting off, though.
I had always had a connection to water since an early age. I used to swim in some waters and not desire to wander yonder forth from 'em and when I learned to swim, I learned faster than most of my peers. I could swim before all of them for some reason. It was almost like I was destined to swim. I loved to swim and float in the water. I loved to dive beneath the surface and linger there, yet for long, now, I have not dared to venture into them again nor get in contact with water. I have not swum for many years or truly enjoyed a shower since some fin-cidents and have not dared to return. Up to now, here and there I did some progress to get more in touch with water, but not to my actual liking. I metaphorically feel like a landlocked waterperson whose gills have closed forever and - warning, a little graphic - been sewn together, but mayhap someday they may reopen, despite possibly having to be done so with pressure in a metaphorical sense.
All of this could be declared to be a form of escapist thinking to dive into imagined scenarios of being underwater or being a fantastical waterperson. I do not deny that such imaginations can be escapist from reality, for often reality is something not desirable, yet it is not always delusional. I do agree that it is delusional to say that one is able to breathe underwater meanwhile one cannot, yet we can hold our breath and be underwater for a bit at least. While, findeed, it may be delusional to some if one fantasizes about being able to live underwater, it does not necessarily mean that it is delusional to others. To me, the mere thought or imagination of being able to breathe underwater is fine as long as one does not actually attempt that and drown. Many acknowledge both reality and fantasy together in a good balance. One can accept limits of biology or "reality" and still act upon certain aspects of fantasy that are ethical and possible. For once, imaginations can aid in flowing through stormy waters and being capable of dealing with those. It is an anchor in the storm waters. Diving deeply into one's fin-terests is bene-fish-ial even if something may be fantasy. Works of fiction and imagination do reflect us in many manners and can be lessons for all of us. We are our imagination. Peering into our minds' oceans is vital to learn about the world. Fantastical thoughts and works are a free, unlimiting, and often a safe tide of doing so. Reality and fantasy often exist as companions. With fantasy, we can create what we call reality. By diving into the fantastical waters, one can explore many possibilities that may not be able to be executed in reality. That is why we teach youth to be creative and imaginative. With imagination, one can create and solve possibilities that have not yet been realized for instance. Only later on we tend to be told not to be imaginative and only conform to certain things. "Fantasizing" about being a waterperson can be actually helpful. Fin-swimming, for fin-stance, is also a sport and not only a costume showoff. People can even make it their living because other people adore what they do. It can be healing and a true expression for many. Many people can be able to be themselves to more extents if they are part of the "fantastical". It can be their truth. It not only is an expression, but often also an identity. We have the abilities to make at least some fantasies reality. Even if those fishtails may be "artificial", I once mentioned in another entry how so much folklore has exactly told of these kinds of waterpeople for generations such as the karukayn of the Gurindji people in North Australia or the ceasgs in Celtic mythology in Scotland. They could literally wear their fishtails like pieces of clothing and take them off. Those who do fin-swimming are true folkloric waterpeople in such regards even. One does not necessarily pretend, one makes it a reality, at least for oneself. If one declares all forms of fantasy to be "delusional", one drowns out the other possibilities that people can comprehend. Through fantasy, we can be more of ourselves. That is not escapism necessarily, it can be exploration and expansion. Of course, one should not always reside in the fantastical and still engage with essentials such as taking care of oneself and perhaps also others. As long as one causes no trouble upon others or oneself and maintains a balance between reality and fantasy, it is utterly fine.
Not everyone will understand what I want to say and that is fine. If one thinks it is mere make-believe fantasy, it may be for one, but do not say that everyone else should think it is alongside.
Such social norms which try to "normalize" people can drown out diversity. People are diverse and have to be different. If there is only one norm we must be, we are not people or individuals anymore. We are mere copies then. Life has to be diverse in many cases. Genetic diversity, for instance, has to exist, otherwise a species is less likely to survive, for the world itself is always changing. If no diverse beings existed of that species, the species would be less likely to adapt. If only one singular standard would exist and the world changed where it would not be sustainable anymore, the species could vanish. This is the same with our minds and society. We need diverse minds, otherwise if something happened where we needed something out of the norm in order to survive and did not have anything in that manner, we could not be able to adapt and survive. Basically, this argument of being delusional is not trustworthy in some regards, for oftentimes reality can be subjective because we are all unique. It only becomes a difficult topic if trouble is present, but calling fantasy or imagination in general "delusional" is a stormy wave in of itself. I could describe it, from my view, as erasure of diversity and life itself. Such claims of being delusional can be delusional themselves if they only limit themselves to certain viewpoints that ignore others. Categories and rules etc. can be helpful like navigational maps under some circumstances and can be essential, but not always and not for everything. A map is not always a true representation of the world, for the world is always changing and never static while the map itself is.
However, I primarily only call out such disagreements with the fantastical that are not respectful. Many still maintain respect and I do not want to simplify. Disagreement is part of diversity and as long as it does not drown out other people, it is welcome for me under most circumstances, yet this may depend on others. As long as respectful disagreement is present, I accept that. Still, this argument of being "delusional" being in of itself delusional sometimes is especially evident, to me at least, such as in my connection to water which shall dive into some environmental concerns, as a disclaimer to those who may find it upsetting. I also do not have formal knowledge in that topic and only have information from books covering parts of it such as "The Water Book" by Alok Jha or "Water: A Spiritual History" by Ian Bradley or even "Mermaids: The Myths, Legends, and Lore" by Skye Alexander in some sections.
Water is something which is present in the lives of all. We all need it to live. To a large sum, we are made of water. If one appreciates it and wants to be part of it at least in the imagination, one should do so since few do. Many only sea it as something common or "normal", yet if one dives deeper into the topic, it can be as vast as the ocean itself. Some tend to exploit water which leads to water shortage or some do not respect it at all by polluting it, making it ineligible to drink. I am grateful that I have access to clean water unpolluted by anything. So many places have unclean water. If one cannot drink water, one will not survive. We need to consume more water than meals. So many people do not have access to water at all and do not survive. So many people, for example those who pursue marine biology, are drawn to water and their work is important so that we get to know our world's waters even. We have explored more of outer space than our very own watery space on earth. I would say, do not take water for granted. One should be grateful for it, even if just in a small amount for one second, if possible. It is a miracle that so many of us have close access to it. Many others do not, yet we all need it to live. Access to it will become more scarce alongside. I do not think that water, for example, should be reduced to something of a boring, everyday utility and topic. If possible, raise awareness to keep our waters and the ocean healthy. Keep nature healthy and do not take it for granted. If we exploit it all, we will not benefit from it in the long tide. What my point here is, is that we all share water and if we misuse it completely, many may never get to ever use it again in the future. Of course many factors are present. It is an entire ocean in of itself with countless waves and this is something rather oversimplified which I do not like to do as aforementioned, but we have to attempt to protect our waters and not ignore it at least. Think about it at least.
To me, seeing myself as a waterperson can be literal and something deeply interconnected to my origins, to me. I may not be able to live underwater, yet I can live by the waters. When I say that I want to be an actual waterperson capable of living underwater, I mean it in a way of wanting to appreciate and explore my own mind's depths, the waters, my origins, and nature to much deeper extents. I want to explore the ocean as a waterperson. It is a desired for exploration and not delusion nor escapism. This imagined scenario of being a waterperson to me means being deeper connected to nature, our essence, and being like the philosophical nature of water, and learning more about it all. Still and all, I already am a waterperson in another sense. I am made of water to roughly seventy percent and I appreciate the waters. I can still be part of nature and help to keep it alive and explore parts of it. I can always imagine being a waterperson deep down in my mind and act upon what I have in reality. Or perhaps we can discover more possibilities? Who knows what lies beneath the waves.
Whatever one may think of this, I hope that this gave some finsight from my sea's horizon!
Thanks for diving into me and my sea.
