Sunday 14 October 2007

The Underwater Garden

I was lucky to see some of the underwater life that has made the Florida Keys famous. These are not the photos from my snorkelling session. Rather these are the shots that I was able to get pressed up against the side of the aquarium in the large display room.
These other wordly scapes were just what I was in the mood to contemplate. It's been a bit of a nightmare month but I was able to recharge in the Keys. That these wonderful creatures spend all day gently waving their tentacles is a great comfort to me. Why?
Something on a cellular level, I'm sure. Some sort of limbic throwback.
I read that in Japan there is a hugely popular trend where highly stressed corporate king (or queen) pins pay over-the-top ridiculous prices to spend a night looking at jellyfish float in large aquariums.
The sessions are pre-booked months in advance and come with a complimentary blanket and pillow (well maybe I'm improvising on that part). My point is that I never understood the appeal until I looked around my yoga class one night, everyone was upside down in shoulder stand and in the dim light we all looked like suspended, hushed entities; sort of jellyfish like, and deeply relaxed and relaxing.