I swam over the coral reef looking at all the vibrant marine life just feet below me. It was a beautiful sight this Oklahoma boy had not previously enjoyed.
Amazed by the variety of fish, colors, and other ocean life I didn’t notice how far out I had swum. Until, I swum out of the abyss. Okay, it wasn’t really the Abyss. It was the channel our cruise ship had used to enter the port. However, from where I was floating it looked like the abyss. I couldn’t see the bottom.
Instantly, I went from comfortable amazement to sheer terror of the unknown. I had watched enough movies like Jaws to know that you stay where you can see the bottom so nothing can sneak up on you! I swam back towards safety only to come upon one of the most deadly creatures the ocean has to offer, a lion fish.
Staring at this beautifully deceiving fish, a thought hit me, I was afraid of the deep unknown. I was scared of what I couldn’t see. I should have been more afraid of the known, of the comfortable. That is where the nearest danger was lurking.
Where I felt safest I was in the most danger.