Blue lights and silhouettes

I walked into the marsh around 4 am and was about to retrieve a net. I looked down and saw that as I moved around, tiny blue fluorescent lights flashed in the water. I waved my hand through the water and little blue sparkles would shine. I stopped moving, looked up and for the first time recognized the beauty of the early morning in a marsh. Everything is still. The water hardly ripples, an occasional fish leaps out of the water, the bugs sing in harmony. And out into the horizon, a deep blue light escapes from the darkness. Stillness. I breath a sigh of relief and completely relax. Meanwhile my other lab partner is stressing about walking through oysters and completing the job. All of a sudden I become one with the marsh. I feel apart of its being. No fear. No rush, Just slow movements. The blue flashes continue and the I see blue sparkles that outline a jellyfish. I realize that they are the lights of ctenophores, basically moon jellies. So cool. Mother nature always puts beauty in your path. Whether or not you take a moment to see it and appreciate it is another story. I then looked up and saw my partner completely silhouetted with the fyke net we were about to retrieve on a background of orange, purple, and pink as the sun slowly edged its way up the sky. The sun was awakening life in the marsh. Birds starting moving around, the fish were splashing, and I continued to move with the marsh, hoping that I could join in the morning awakening process.

That morning was a very enjoyable one. I relished each moment I spent in the waters. Meanwhile, everyone else continued to move with the quick-to the point motions that I had once been a part of.

Now whenever I am going into the field, whether the sun is setting, or rising, or darkness blankets the sky, I feel a new since of passion and beauty around me. It’s no longer just a job. It is understanding the world around me and its intricacies that most people have never seen at work. I’m the lucky one. But shhh it’s a secret.

11:00 pm. I walk into the marsh, into the warm water, look up, and am surrounded by an infinite field of stars. I wish I could lay back, float, and get lost in nature’s awe. Blue lights and silhouettes.