Once upon a time there lived a maiden so fair, with long blonde hair tied back in a braid she spent all of her day out upon the cliffs. Climbing and sending brought joy to her heart and from dawn to dusk she could always be found climbing up and up chasing her goal to catch up to the sun. Higher and higher unafraid of falling, she never looked down content being lost among the clouds. Never quite alone while climbing so high she needed a catch, with a partner at the ready nothing could detain her desire for the height.
One day she stumbled upon a cliff jutting out from the sea, and desperate to seek a new kind of knowing she found herself alone totally free soloing. Exhilerated by change she realized how boring her life had become with all the old knowing. The thrill of being alone on a climb, no catch at the ready she felt quite sublime in her boldly executed independent climb. Feeling so free she moved for a hold, unexpectedly falling she didn’t see it coming. Down into the sea her body went crashing, the waves over her head filled her with utter terror and dread. The current grabbed at her, pulling her down deep into the depths with such fierce aggressive pressure. What is this place, what are these feelings, so new and foreign, maybe this is death. With pounding suppression the waves hit the shore pushing her deeper down to seas floor. Just out of reach with no move to make, no thoughts for escape, no air to breath, no partner to catch her here beneath the wake, she closed her eyes to the fear, this is the end she thought to herself, “I’m not going to make it, I’m going to drown”.
A pull at her heel and a tug at her sleeve she felt buoyancy return as she rose up to breath. Gasping and coughing she made it to shore. Looking around for a sign to ease her confusion, she pondered her bewilderment of how she emerged alive and still here. Splashing nearby reflected in sun a silver tail fin was waving and jumping in fun. The maiden perplexed yelled out to the fish “where did you come from and how did you know that I was downing out there, lost and alone? The depths are scary, so foreign and unknown!”
The fish replied with a lightness of tone “the depths only frighten those who don’t know how to navigate the darkness and fear the unknown. I swim in those depths each and everyday. I know when the tide comes in feelings get big, pressing and pulling I feel the need to swim. But in its time the moon beckons the waves away, and along with the tide the pressure subsides and the feelings and fear simply float away. I’ve learned how to be a fish in the sea, swimming in peace face to face with the fear found within the murky depths. I understand that for humans trying to swim while holding your breath can be rather appalling. Living up high on cliffs as you do, I’m sure the fall into the depths was terrifying and alarming. Would you like to swim with me? To breath beneath the depths to discover their peace? Take a breath, jump in and hold on to me, I’ll teach you to swim, not alone in the dark. You’ve learned to share the highs of life climbing with a catch, now it’s time to share the depths without a security net. Life is richer and fuller with the highs and the lows, but only when you learn to trust that you can share both.”
And that was the day when mermaids came to be.
The Fish Eye 