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KNOWING HOW IMPORTANT IT IS THAT I STAY BALANCED, I decide I need another day on the boat with Veto and Clint.This time we head off to Keahole Bay. To our delight, hundreds of spinner dolphins are already moving into the bay, greeting us with their amazing high leaps and spins in midair. "Well, Clint," I ask. "This is it. Do you want to have your first dolphin encounter?"

Veto cut the engines and I glance over at Clint, who I can see is nervous. He had admitted to me before coming out that he isn't a great swimmer, and as I quietly observe his internal struggle, I'm reminded of the first few times I was plunked into the deep ocean. It can be intimidating and frightening to say the least, what with who knows what kinds of creatures might be lurking in the darkness below. Sharks? Jelly fish? Sea monsters? One's imagination can run amok out here if given enough rein. When you are not a good swimmer, or even a fairly decent one, a hundred feet can seem like a plunge into a black infinite abyss.

"Give me a minute. You go first," he responds tentatively.

I nod understandingly as I don my snorkel gear and slowly let myself down into the water. The water nips at my skin but it only takes a minute for my body to get used to the unusually cool temperature. Slowly I swim out to the dolphins who are now nowhere in sight. It often happens that when a swimmer first drops into their home, they dive well below the surface. I know if I'm patient and calm they will more than likely begin to move into view, closer and closer, eventually accepting me into their pod. From the rougher surface, I gaze fifty feet below into the silence and peace of their underwater world. The sound of their occasional high squeaks greets me, making my body feel deliciously joyful.

Soon some dolphins begin to spiral up to the surface of the water, moving leisurely in my direction. My breath catches in wonder and awe as I'm invited into their dolphin dance. They're all around and beneath me. For a moment I am one of them as my body floats serenely in the blue-green womb of mother earth. As quickly as they are here, everywhere around me, they dive again. Babies, subadults, and parents, all together in a cooperative community, swimming synchronistically together. I watch in voyeur-like fashion as two and three pairs join in their belly-to-belly mating ritual. Oh, Clint has to see and be a part of this breathtaking encounter!Elated, I quickly swim back to the boat and climb up the ladder. "Clint, come on in, they're incredible! You have to experience this! " Clint's eyes are shining, his body wiggles in sheer pleasure and anticipation.

"LesLee, they were everywhere around you! It was so cool. I want to get in. I want to be with them!" It is so extraordinarily touching to see his desire and courage override the fear I know he is feeling.

Reassured that I would stay close to his side, we swim hand-in-hand until Clint grows accustomed to the temperature and new environment. Signalling he is okay, Clint lets go of my hand. Together, we take in the wonder of the ballet beneath us. The dolphins' constant chatter begins to fill the ocean, squeezing out the sounds of the ocean waves crashing boisterously against the shore. I glance over again at Clint and sense the awe and humility I know he is experiencing. Back on the boat, Clint is shaking with excitement.

"It was incredible! Incredible, oh my God, it was incredible!" he exclaims.Clint swims often with the dolphins now—as comfortable in the water as he is on land. Now it is he and Maria who take anxious people by the hand, leading them, encouraging them, making their dreams come true. His art, which never use to include dolphins, now captures the essence and magic of dolphin energy swirling about in the universe.

The first times with the dolphins, as with the whales, bring up overwhelming primal emotions that often moves one to tears. Perhaps it is their trust, the feeling of unconditional love or perhaps the dolphins invite us into our own soul, to peek into lost parts of ourselves which long to be rediscovered. Whatever the reasons, they simply deeply and beautifully move us.

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