Sometimes you’ve got to be out of your depth to experience some of the most profound and memorable experiences of your life. I did that literally, a couple of weeks ago sharpening my scuba diving skills in Indonesia. By sharpening I really mean remembering what the hell I learnt a month before when I did my first ever scuba dive in Fiji.
There’s nothing like taking on a new challenge to open your mind and teach you new ways of looking at things and solving problems. We were lead by marine biologists and scientists to untouched coral reefs and marine reserves in the middle of what seemed to be nowhere, in Raja Ampat – in the Coral Triangle. Diving with these technical experts in their backyard, learning new skills and seeing life through another person’s eyes, gave me a different perspective on the way the world seems to just be.
Sure we swam with sharks, sea snakes, rays, and turtles – but it was the little things that hit me. We watched tiny sea slugs and pygmy seahorses the size of your little fingernail at 30m (100 feet) below, things that we would never have noticed had we not taken the time to look and experience what was right underneath our noses. It’s amazing to think about what you don’t see in day to day life.
We got to dive among beautiful marine reserve’s that have been set up as ‘Fish Banks’ solely to preserve marine life and teach the locals about sustainability so that there will be more food and marine life for their families to enjoy in the long term. It’s quite humbling to realize how just making one small change may impact many a generation of people ahead of you.
We’ve got a new year just around the corner, what change do you resolve to enrich your life, and the lives of those around you?
- Jeremy Moon, Founder & CEO Icebreaker
