Opinion Articles

SOUL MATTERS: Octopus's garden ignites spiritual awakening
By Paul O'Bryan

While a little murky, our visibility is good as we come upon the rocky outcrops known as the “twin bommies” at Halifax Park (Nelson Bay), one of my favourite dive sites and a truly special place. Today my wife Debbie is my buddy. We are alone, a rarity in this place, and we both pause, simply awed by what we see. It is breathtaking and the silence combines to evoke a deep sense of the sacred. Other places, other people and other events evoke this same sense in me at other times – the sense that our lives are truly part of a reality that is overwhelmingly boundless: mysterious, beckoning and sometimes dangerous.

Life is totally abundant here. Large schools of Big Eye, Stripey and Old Wife hang suspended, almost motionless, while many other species of fish glide casually, dart in and out or simply pass us by in a flurry of activity that is almost masked by a surreal sense of suspended time. Blue Gropers, Stingarees and Wobbegongs are common here. An Octopus, unaware of our presence, forages under a ledge near a small group of Pineapple Fish and a Spotted Moray Eel peers out of its hole – a sentinel to all around. As we approach, the schools of fish move slightly and allow us to swim among them. We are guests here, and as we begin to explore, our attention is drawn to the vast diversity of plant and animal life - an amazing kaleidoscope of shape and size, form and colour – a true celebration of life.

Here, I experience the enormity of the ocean’s expanse and with it, my own littleness.

Here, my joy of diving combines with a passion for photography. I am captivated.

Here, the words of theologian Dennis Edwards are manifest in the present experience:

“I believe that humanity exists in relationship with all forms of life on Earth and in the Cosmos. All have their origins in the great primordial fireball. All are made from stardust. All creation exists in complex networks of inter-relationship where the human community is part of the earthly and cosmic community.”

For me, spirituality is about relationship – with God, with myself, with others and with all life on earth – so it has many dimensions. Diving draws me into a deep appreciation of the delicate relationship and inter-dependence of all life forms. It is not something I can easily articulate. So I take time to let this wash over me. There is an overwhelming sense that this celebration of life is intrinsic to my own existence on earth and that the pain and suffering of people and our planet is my pain and suffering as well.

Time here is precious and before long our air runs low. We return to the surface and I carry a renewed commitment to the dignity of all life.

Paul O'Bryan
Paul O’Bryan is a member of the Catholic Diocesan Pastoral Support Unit and a local dive leader.