If you read a recent front page story of the SF Chronicle,
you would have read about a female humpback whale
who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps
and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds
of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She
also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around
her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth.
A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands
(outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental
group for help.
Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined
that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive
in and untangle her. They worked for hours with curved knives
and eventually freed her.
When she was free, the divers say she swam in what
seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each
and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them
gently around-she thanked them. Some said it was the most
incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.
The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye
was following him the whole time, and he will never be the
same.
May you, and all those you love, be so blessed and fortunate
to be surrounded by people who will help you get untangled
from the things that are binding you. And, may you always
know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude.
I pass this on to you, my friends, in the same spirit.