Last weekend was our girl's trip to Cape May. Friends Sylvia, Genny, Genny's sister Karen, and I were planning a relaxing weekend away. Little did I know that by the end of the first day, I would be gifted with an amazing experience. Sylvia and I, along with the help of Reiki, would be assisting in saving a stranded baby shark.
Sylvia is a beach-girl through and through and her excitement to be near the water was contagious. After our late arrival in Cape May and hotel check-in, we hastily made our way to the beach to soak in the powerful energy of the sea. I was wading in the water with my head down, scanning the shoreline for beach rocks. As I walked toward Genny with my treasures, I heard her say something about, "Sylvia" and "shark." I looked up and there was Sylvia along the water's edge trying to help a one-and-a-half to two foot baby shark who was stranded on the beach. It seemed as though the current was preventing him from being able to get back into the deeper water. I rushed over to Sylvia. When she looked up and saw me, she hurriedly gestured toward the shark, who was currently making another attempt to return to the sea, and simply said, "Reiki." She walked along the water sending an energetic barrier to try and keep the little shark from getting caught in the turbulence while I beamed Reiki in it's direction. But the shark came tumbling back to shore. Still in our travel clothes, we repeatedly tried to push the shark under the water to keep it breathing. We aimed it toward the safety of the ocean, only to have the baby quickly tossed back to us by the waves. We made a couple more attempts with equally frustrating results. Sylvia stood over the shark with tears in her eyes speaking to it sternly but with love, saying that if it was not it's destiny to die on this beach, then it needed to try harder to survive. Caught up the the emotion of it all, I said, "Let's just grab it and haul it out past where the waves break." But Sylvia reminded me that she was not a strong swimmer so this was not an option. She also mentioned there was a fairly quick drop off. With the strength of the waves, it probably wouldn't have been a great idea for either of us to attempt. Admittedly, upon later reflection, I would be slightly alarmed that I was ready to grab a two foot shark and strong-arm it back into the ocean while fully dressed in clothing that would have made swimming in general challenging. Adrenaline is a funny thing.
With frustration, Sylvia lamented that this was the type of thing she always had trouble with. Maybe it wasn't for the highest and best for this shark to live. Maybe it wasn't supposed to make it after all and we had to be ok with that. But in the end, we were two stubborn girls, not about to walk away and let it suffocate on the beach. We both felt it was just out of energy and couldn't make it past the breaking waves. We would keep trying. If it's destiny was to die on the beach, it wasn't going to be here or now.
It tumbled back to us one more time. Sylvia leaned over, placed her hands on either side of it's head and pushed it under the water so the tide could move over it's gills. And she began to give it Reiki. I placed my hands on it's lower back, giving it Reiki while pulling the negative energy off it's tail and flicking it toward the sand. We poured energy into this seemingly exhausted little shark and finally, together, let it go. This time, it seemed to effortlessly swim out toward the sea. He did not tumble back to us. We did not see him again.
I don't remember if we hugged, high-fived or cheered but I remember the feeling of the moment. I felt fantastically alive and grateful to have helped save a life. We walked up the beach toward the hotel exhilarated and ready for dinner. We ended up at the Mad Batter choosing to sit outside with ocean soaked pants up to our thighs. I ordered some crab bisque and a chocolate martini happily ready to indulge in some vacation treats.
Not quite the first day of vacation I expected but, as usual, the day's gifts turned out to be far greater than the expected. Isn't that always the way it goes?
Blessings to you little shark, wherever you are!
