The ocean can be a dark and perilous place, but much less so when you have a friend.
Over the weekend, crew members aboard a whale watching vessel off the coast of Long Island spotted an all-too-common sight -- a humpback whale that had become hopelessly entangled in fishing line, unable to swim. As they moved in for a closer look, they soon discovered that the whale, although desperately trapped, was at least not alone. The buddy-system, it seems, was in force.
Christine Callaghan, a guide with Pirate's Cove Whale Watch, says that what she saw unfold was "unforgettable."
The two humpbacks, named Foggy and Grommet, are frequent visitors to the area, but the extent of their friendship wasn't known until that day. Callaghan writes that Foggy "had rope wrapped around her head and across her blowholes, and as we carefully approached, we could see that she also had a loop of rope across her peduncle (the narrow part of her tail, just ahead of the flukes), dragging a mass of old lobster traps beneath her."
Although the other whale could swim away, it never left Foggy's side. Instead, Grommet could be seen lifting out of the water as if to plead for help from the approaching humans.
"I will challenge anyone who claims that humans are the only intelligent, empathetic animals," says Callaghan.
Even after a disentanglement crew arrived to assess Foggy, Grommet continued to linger close by, observing their progress. Then, the rescuers cut the ropes, freeing the humpback from her grim predicament.
“Now comes the truly amazing thing… the instant the rope came off Foggy’s head, Grommet dove, and then burst from the water in a spectacular breach," Callaghan writes.
“Tell me that wasn't a celebration."
The two whales were last seen swimming together, side by side, out into the open ocean.
via  treehugger.com

Valentina is Grateful

Michael Fishbach, co-founder of The Great Whale Conservancy (GWC), narrates his encounter with a young humpback whale entangled in local fishing nets.

At first, the animal appeared to be dead, yet Fishbach investigated and quickly discovered that the poor creature was tangled in a fishing net.

The humans had to act fast; what began as a tragedy soon became a thrilling rescue as Fishbach and his crew labored to free the young whale.

The entire encounter was caught on videotape and later narrated by Fishbach himself.

Watch as the whale named Valentina by her rescuers goes from near death to freedom, then rewards her saviours with dozens of magnificent full-body breeches and tail flips.

Indeed, this video has the power to inspire action on behalf of other beings. In ways big and small, each of us can be the one who helps another.

from: http://wakeup-world.com/2011/07/17/whale-shows-amazing-appreciation-after-being-freed-from-fishing-nets/

Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,  
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice
Is also great

And would suffice.

- Robert Frost

Bliss is still possible

"...when you fall in love, you can't imagine anything but bliss.  It feels so free to fall in love.  You run ahead, arms wide open, and all the unloving parts of yourself get left behind.  You wave goodbye and rush thrillingly into your perfect future.  That's the moment of tasting the bliss, shall we say.  Its energy can only last so long, however.  As your sight clears and you realize that you must live in the everyday world, bliss is still possible.  To have it, you must return to all those stranded parts of yourself that you left in the dust.  Oh, how you wish that you didn't have to look at them again!  All that ugliness.  So much shame and guilt and humiliation that you never deserved the first time.  Some stragglers are whiney and weak, like bedraggled orphans.  Some are puffed up with self-righteousness and pride like cheap con men.  There is anger and rage, anxiety and dread-- I couldn't name the countless bits of your normal self that haven't been uplifted by love.

But unpleasant as they are, if you go back and give them love, they add to your bliss.  The journey of the return brings reconciliation.  It brings a ripening.  It brings acceptance of who you are.  Because love isn't saying Come to me when you are good enough and I will cherish you forever.  It's saying, Bring me everything you are, and I will make it worthy to be loved.  The journey of return is what makes you real, and once it's done, you remain real forever."
-Deepak Chopra from The Daughters of Joy: An Adventure of the Heart

Jane Goodall's Intimate connection with Chimpanzee Wounda

The sensory misers will inherit the earth

The sensory misers will inherit the earth, but first they will make it not worth living on. When you consider something like death, after which we may well go out like a candle flame, then it probably won’t matter if we try too hard, are awkward sometimes, care for one another too deeply, are excessively curious about nature, are too open to experience, enjoy a nonstop expense of the senses in an effort to know life intimately and lovingly.
-Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses 

Enchantment

We can't enchant the world, which makes its own magic; but we can enchant ourselves by paying deep attention.
― Diane Ackerman, An Alchemy of Mind: The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain

Love is the glue

Love is the glue that keeps things from falling apart.  Love makes you feel immortal because you stop being fooled by time.  When you love, you suddenly remember what is.
-Deepak Chopra from The Daughters of Joy: An Adventure of the Heart