The Neptune Warrior

This weekend I posted pictures of our latest Neptune Warrior event. Photos of participants posing with the flag all smiles as someone made a smart-ass comment and the moment was captured. Pictures of divers gearing up and getting ready for a dive. The instant someone breathes underwater for the very first time digitally captured in a jpg file. There are pictures of me as well. Images where I’m teaching, demonstrating, and coaching. I uploaded over a hundred pictures as well as video from this one day.

There is one picture however that has drawn allot of attention. I had several people comment on it. Since it seemed to be popular I moved it to my personal facebook page. It drew more attention. When I got to work the next day, a few co-workers commented on it. Old girlfriends even “liked” it.

Why is this single picture “viral” in my close circle of friends? I’m happy. Truly happy in it. I am living from the heart in this picture. I am following the schematics of how I’m hard-wired. I am in my element.

For so long I have taken on this pursuit on and feel pulled in so many directions. Neptune Warrior feels at times like chasing a wild goose. But this last year it returned to its original focus. To get vets in the water, off the shoebox full of meds, and to give them an opportunity to discover themselves through diving.

Neptune gives me a venue to share something I have a deep passion for that when I was teaching survival in Adventure IQ I never had. You see, when I teach a class, I’m not just sharing skills I developed, I am showing my heart. I’m bringing my time as a kid in Arizona and Texas where playing in the ponds, creeks, and lakes taught me important life lessons and kept me out of trouble. I’m bringing my own real world experience where I continue to survive suicide against odds. I am showing you the guy who still dives 5-7 times a week, makes time to increase my own knowledge of not just diving, but the psychology of PTSD, and even a glimpse into the time I sit alone in a pool or lake taking it all in.

The real Rob Anderson had been mostly MIA before this adventure. I think he is on his way back. So for those of you who don’t know him, or those who forgot who he was, let me introduce the real Rob to you…