SCUBA DIVING:

I recently completed my first scuba diving certification in San Diego California. It was a physical and mental challenge for me as well as the other five members of the class. Scuba diving fits very well with some of the readings this past week in my writing class as well as the over-all theme of this blog. The essay for this week’s class that had the biggest effect on my and matched the theme of my blog was the article by Emily Esfahani Smith “the two kinds of stories we tell about ourselves.” 

The Four Pillars: While the article was mostly about creating positive narratives about past events as well as how we move into our futures. The real focus of this blog can be best understood by Emily’s Ted Talk. In this she describes how chasing happiness is a mistake and that the real and healthy way to live is to find meaning in our lives. This is best done by belonging too and serving something beyond yourself. She gives an analogy of four pillars of the meaning of life: Belonging, Purpose, Transcendence, and Storytelling.

My Narrative: It is through my new scuba diving addition to my life that I believe will help in shaping a positive narrative to my life and hopefully others. Scuba diving takes place within a worldwide community of all different kinds of people, different races, genders, religions, political beliefs, who all come together with a strong sense of community with the purpose to help each other as well as the planet, with a transcendence that once deep in the ocean surrounded by awesome beauty brings about a higher reality far beyond the mundane materialism we are so possessed by in our everyday lives. And it is this experience and worldwide friendship to others and the planet that creates the powerful narrative within the story.

I chose this picture because it shows the beauty and transcendence of the deep ocean, as well as the strength, purpose, and belonging of two divers to each other with one diver giving air to another as a sign of servitude.