We took an epic bus ride that included being tossed around in an open air bed of a truck on a dirt road in the evening darkness. In the middle of no where we felt as if we were on a journey to find something special and the anticipation grew.
We arrived to a pristine beach that is being cared for by passionate biologists in order to preserve the survival of thousands of baby sea turtles.
We parked and got out, stretching after the long ride and anxious to move forward towards the water.
We walked in silence down to the beach under the moon lit sky. We took off our shoes and walked toward the water with dozens of baby sea turtles held tightly in a basket by our leader.
We were to help release these tiny creatures to the sea for the first time.
We were told that once in a while, if we are lucky, we will also see baby turtles crawling out from under the sand where they just hatched. And, if we are really, really lucky, we will witness a momma sea turtle crawl out of the sea and walk up the beach to lay her eggs.
As we walk down to the middle of the beach we release our baby turtles that we were given.
The baby I have is so tiny, so precious. As I hold the 2 inch baby I can't imagine that she is ready to walk on her own, let alone scurry out to the gigantic sea of life.
I whisper secrets of the world to the baby as she crawls out towards the water for the first time. We are told that the baby must crawl the entirety of the beach towards the water in order to feel the magnetic force of the sea. We are told this is so that they will always return back to this beach to lay their eggs.
My advice and encouragement has been whispered softly to the baby as she scurry's slowly forward. Finally a wave comes, but it washes over the baby and it is not enough to carry her out this first try.
I sigh in relief. I hate goodbyes.
Another wave comes and this is it. It is time to say goodbye and let the baby figure it out on her own.
In an instant the baby is gone forever, off to the unknown, off for the start of her adventure.
I think about the next time she is going to crawl back onto this beach, when she is finally ready to come home to lay her eggs.
I smile.
I am then startled into reality as we witness a momma turtle on the beach, laying her eggs under the silence of the moon.
She is huge and she is beautiful.
She lays her eggs and buries them in the sand. We hear someone call out from down the beach and we hurry over to see what she has found.
There are dozens of babies crawling out from under the sand, making their way to the pull of the moons surface.
It is a precious moment, life is being born.
We go back towards the momma and she is walking back to the ocean, her work accomplished.
Under the brilliance of the shining moon we watch her slowly scurry towards the shadow of the crashing waves. Her weight and magnitude carrying her forward.
It is silent.
I think about life and the journey that we are on. The unexpected, beautiful moments that cross our paths.
It reminds me that although time is fleeting, it is in each moment and each encounter that the secrets of our story our being released.. and we must listen or risk missing these secrets.
I feel fully content as I watch her being swept back off to sea, ready to do it all over again, ready for the love of the water to surround her.
