Listening and Exploring in Pamlico Sound

I love the smoothness of flat water kayaking. Cycling keeps you to the white line on the road, or the center of the well worn trails. Hiking takes you deep into the woods, but also restricts you to the blazed pathway. Kayaking has a freedom to it, wide open water seems to invite unlimited exploring and the little islands and inlets all over the Outerbanks seem untouched by humans. Our canoes and kayaks leave no trace, barely even a wake. Micah and Lyle and I went out yesterday morning into the shallow water of the Pamilco Sound to see what we might find if we could get lost in the little inlets, creeks and islands of Hatteras Island National Seashore. We entered these areas not knowing what we would find, but we knew there would be something to experience. For the boys, and for me, the slow movement and intention of paying very close attention to what creatures might be swimming with us, was practice of contemplation, practice in listening and paying attention to our surroundings. Earlier Micah had asked me what one of the books I'm reading is about. The book is called "This," its by Michael Gungor. Basically, its about experiencing the Divine/God/Ourselves, in the holy here and now, the holy This. If you're confused, there's an entire book about it, so check it out. While we kayaked and at first didn't see anything that interested them beyond water and a long way to paddle, I explained why we should focus on the amazingness of what we were doing NOW and that we would soon be out of the water and away from the beauty we are surrounded by. I encouraged them to pay attention to THIS and not THAT ("that" being anything other than what is before us in the here and now). Soon Lyle and I took the lead down a long inlet that led to a Great Blue Heron paying equal attention to us and something swimming in the water. Lyle asked if we could move out and head back to the beach house. The blue heron was just another blue heron to him, since he and I had kayaked together before and seen lots of herons at home. I encouraged him to be quiet and see what happened if we experienced THIS heron and THIS moment with the heron. Soon the heron chose to ignore us (the goal of watching animals in wild places is always that they do what they do while we're still in watching distance) and snatch up a big fish. We were amazed by her quickness and agility in fishing. She really wasn't ignoring us or she probably would have eaten the fish right there, instead she flew away to privacy with her breakfast.

Next we traveled down another even longer inlet. The more narrow waterway was surrounded by grasses and junipers where the ground was a bit drier. The sky was crisp blue and the sun was getting hotter. Both boys were getting tired, but we chose to explore a little further. It was at the end of that little creek that Lyle and I saw one of my favorite animals, a river otter! River otters are very smart creatures. They are one of the most playful animals in nature, simply because they are so smart and so good at being otters. They catch enough food to eat each day more easily than many animals. Then they just hang out for the day and play, swim and seem to enjoy the fact that they are otters in this wonderful world! We didn't see him for long as he swam from one side of the creek to the other and dove into the thicket of grass and aquatic plants. Sadly Micah missed seeing him, he was just a bit behind us. Paddling around we also saw two water snakes, I think a cottonmouth, which is venomous. We saw turtles, crabs, an osprey carrying a small fish, lots of fish in the water and even a stingray.



Our little adventure was a lesson in being in the here and now, a lesson in what can happen when you pay close attention. The best moments were both when we saw cool creatures and also, at least for me, when we were moving slowly, quietly in the water, making almost no disturbance in the crystal clear water.