Episode 7
Rounding off Series 2...and Series 3 coming soon
Hello, I am Stephanie Luo. Welcome to “Surface Time : Confessions of a Diving Junkie”.
I hope that the dialogues in Series 2 have given you different perspectives about “following your heart”.
For me, when I listened back to each episode, I really love the excitement and passions radiating the guests as they recount their stories. And that happy vibe can be contagious. Probably enough to make you to look at your life differently, especial if you happen to be contemplating on some issues or ideas. And it would be great, if the happy vibe has made you plug up the courage and start exploring the unchartered path in life.
By default, we tend to be programmed to want a life with stability, comfort, certainty, feeling secured etc. At the same time, we are constantly craving for new life experiences and adventures. It is an oxymoron. In that, taking risks can be dauntingly exhilarating and yet very liberating for the soul. All of these are important ingredients to our wellbeing.
Using diving as an example. Going underwater is totally unnatural for our physical body. For the most obvious reason, we cannot breathe underwater like a fish. When water gets inside our lungs, our chances of survival get reduced drastically by the second. I think the technical term for that is drowning.
So some people would decide to play safe, stay away from open water and possibly never experience what it would be like being underwater. Some of us may choose to go free diving by training to hold the breath for as long as possible. Others, like me, prefer using scuba gears to explore the underwater, especially, when I can use NITROX, that is my go-to happy gas.
In a way, we can say that the regular act of going underwater is a constant practice of testing and expanding the boundaries of our own comfort zone. There are risks involved. Real tangible risks. Yet these are manageable as long as we follow the safety protocol and control our fear, like staying calm at all time would be great.
When we go underwater, we are simply intoxicating ourselves with the wonders of this Blue Planet. Many of us keep going back for more. You may ask "why?".
One of the reasons is that when we are underwater, we have to stay calm at all time. The calmer we are, the easier we breathe. The more awareness we have about ourselves and the surrounding. The more clarity we have in our head. And speaking from personal experience, and I am very confident that many scuba divers would agree, that every hour spent underwater is a Happy Hour! We can continue the same sensation when we are on land.
Oh by the way, we should never talk about getting outside of our own comfort zone because that is just too heavy and scary for our mind to process. Hence, we need tell our mind that we are just expanding the coverage area of our comfort zone as we experience something new. Essentially, we are tricking our mind that we are taking risks within our comfort zone.
For non-divers, if you are still on the fence about scuba diving, why not just give it a go? You won’t know if you will become a diving junkie until you have tried it. For new divers, keep diving. The more you do it, the better you get. Dive with different people. Learn new techniques. Optimise your safe diving practices. For well-seasoned with salt and pepper experienced divers, keep sharing your passion.
We will be back before Christmas for the next Series. Until then, I will leave you to ponder a couple of questions:
If you are to recount a “wow” moment from listening to Surface Time, what was that? And why is that?
Looking at your life now, what is lighting you up? What do you want to do more to light yourself up?
I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and comments on our IG account @surfacetimechats.
In the meantime, stay curious and let your heart leads you to the next adventure.
Ciao!
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