Blog #616: Doing the Dolphin Thing

I’m in the ocean off Costa Rica.

I can’t see land.
But I see dolphins.

Hours of them.

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Yesterday…

The dolphins kept coming.

And as they did…

TIME stopped moving.

My initial goal had been to walk laps on the ship’s track.

The walking never happened.

My feet cemented themselves at the banister.

I ocean stared.

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Ever see a baby dolphin?

Brand new to the world…

The little ones’ obviously love their earth roles.

Yesterday…

They were doing their inspiring dolphin thing.

They were jumping, back flipping and wowing the banister crowd. There were 100 phones extended over the ship’s railing hoping to catch a highlight moment to share with others later, but my phone wasn’t one of them.

I was taking pictures with my heart.

In a world of thousands of dolphin YouTube videos and unlimited photos of smiling dolphins online, I can again SEE what I saw today.

But to FEEL what I saw today?

My heart needed to BE the camera.

Sometimes…

Just BEING in the BE changes how BIG the BE becomes.

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But the day was more than dolphins.

Earlier that morning…

I was at one of the ship’s sit-down restaurants. I had my Kindle out and was reading a pretty great Daniel Silva book…The Confessor. I was really into my reading and failed to notice the waiter.

“Hello, Sir… may I take your order.”

I looked at his name tag.

“Hello, ’JZ’. Thank you for your service today. How are you?”

He smiled professionally…but I KNEW something was up

I asked.

He needed me to.

“I was talking earlier to my five-year-old son in the Philippines. He was crying because he misses his daddy. I am a single dad, and I am in pain because I can’t be there for him.”

He quickly told me how is wife had left the family, and he is now his son’s sole parent. His son was living back home now with JZ’s mom.

When it was my turn to talk I said…

“How lucky are YOU! You have an awesome son who misses his awesome dad THAT much! That’s inspiring!”

The tone of JZ’s face changed immediately.

Happy tears filled his eyes.

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The rest of my meal…

We continued to shift JZ’s thinking so he could find positive momentum to finish the end of his current contract. At the end of the meal, JZ asked if we could talk more while I was on the ship.

I handed him my card.

He whispered it’s writing.

And then he smiled extra BIG..

“I prayed to God to meet a person like you, Sir Shawn! I needed to! Please sit at my table every breakfast so I can talk with you!”

Later that day…

I left one of my books for JZ at customer service.

When I’m on a cruise…

I always take ten.

______

So…

Yesterday…

Jumping baby dolphins inspired my deepest heart.

Yesterday…

My conversation with a struggling dad inspired his deepest heart.

Good stuff.

One more thing…

Although this blog won’t get sent until Thursday…

I’m writing and scheduling it on Wednesday, 11/29.

Today is my birthday.

In all my visualization earlier in my life about my future…

I never once visualized 61-year-old…ME.

But now I’m here.

How lucky am I?

If you listen to my words extra closely right now…

you’ll hear me whisper:

“I’m not even close to being through.”

S.