Did my check out dive yesterday. While we were still in the shallows, my son spotted an octopus. We watched him for a fairly long time. He went hither and thither, changing colors and shapes. At one point he swam onto the top of a huge concrete block which holds a mooring line. The octopus molded itself into a perfect tent shape, mimicing the mooring line tie down. At the top of his head, he made a little knob with his eyes looking out. Later we saw a small hawksbill turtle demolishing a coral head. He seemed unperturbed by our presence. We watched him for several minutes. I have no idea what he was eating.

I walked this morning and thought about the dive. Diving for me is a spiritual act, a time of being totally present. I don't think about the past or worry about tomorrow. I just am there amid the fishies and the coral and the sponges and all the other wonderful things beneath the waves. I'm wondering if I can convince the congregation that a dive trip is a spiritual retreat for me and I can take study leave for it.