Just Keep Breathing

At summer camp last week, I also faced my fear of drowning and had a "scuba experience" -- half day of scuba for beginners. I wanted to experience a little of what my son was doing since he was getting his PADI certification. I had never scuba dived before and had only learned how to snorkel four year before, the last time we went to Catalina Island with scouts. I initially panicked when we started to actually breath underwater, but I overcame it and progressed to actually going on a short dive. Where I lost it was when I looked up and realized how deep under the water I was. I started hyperventilating and had to get to the surface. It was embarrassing since there were all these young kids doing it, too, and they seemed to be enjoying the experience. The instructor, a young French-Canadian woman, kept encouraging me to trust the equipment and, "just keep breathing. Remember, the surface is only a feet away."

With those words in my head I went back out again and faced my fears. I wasn't entirely successful in vanquishing them, but I will never forget the life lesson I learned that day -- When you begin to panic just keep breathing. The surface is only a few feet away.