The Neptune Warrior

I love being first in the water. I step in with all my gear on. Feel the burden of the tank and weights off-set by the water as I enter. I make the first few ripples on water that looks like a sheet of glass and they slowly dissipate. Normally this time of day the wind howls through this section stirring up the sediment and dropping visibility. The kite surfers use this area for their sport most mornings. The wind moving out of the mountains and down through the canyon makes this one of the best places for men on boards with sales to indulge in their hobby. But not today. Today it is still. Its a day for diving.

The water level is also changing. We are losing two feet per day. The demand for water is great and snow pack this last year was minimal. Also, the increase in our population in the area and the mindless practice of continuing to water lawns during a drought drains our reservoir. We live in a desert, yet we use up valuable resources to create large lawns of useless grass.

As the water drops it exposes new areas to dive. While our walk to the shoreline is much longer, once we enter the water there are parts of the lake available to us now that had previously been out of reach. A 30-foot drop in the water level brings underwater topography 30 feet closer. Structures that sat just at the range of recreational diving are now only 80-100 feet down making it divable for many of my advanced divers.

This is my life. In some relationships and ventures I am a small ripple that dissipates with time. Causing little or no effect but still present for that moment. A moment where I am testing new waters, sometime being the first in. Sometimes simply making a mark only to be forgotten. My terrain is also changing and as the water level drops it exposes parts of me unseen to me and in many cases unseen to others. I’m discovering new terrain. Parts of me are more accessible. Sometimes the walk to the shoreline is further but I am discovering topography in myself I didn’t know existed.

My life, my interest, my relationships, and my sense of who I am has changed the past few years. I’ve lost friends and associates some by my choice many more by others. I’ve been misunderstood, I’ve been mis speculated. I’ve been accepted and embraced by new communities and shunned by others.
Love me, like me, hate me, disassociate me. It doesn’t matter, I’m still first in the water, I still explore terra incognita, and I still cause ripples.