Ripples from Blue Mind “ If we really think about it, this planet should have been called Water.” Patti Beer, Senior Aquarium Biologist, Vancouver Aquarium@YVR I intuitively found Blue Mind at 5 years old when I discovered the wonders on the tidal flats and oyster beds on Samish Island at church camp. This was back over 50 years ago when kids were free range, and the adults could see me clearly from the windows of the dining hall on the hill above. While the other kids were up on the manmade playground surrounded by cultured lawns, I was turning rocks and observing the life in the small pools of water. Surrounded by water I focused on the small crabs, snails and fish fully immersed in their little world, happy and relaxed. Looking back at my activities even when at home, I believe I hardwired my brain for connections with nature and have been reinforcing those neural pathways of interconnectedness with the natural world ever since. In, on, around and under water is my happy place. I had embraced this fully but had never completely understood it until reading the book Blue Mind. It explained everything I had felt and experienced all those years when around water. Dr. Nichol includes a quote from Michael Phelps one of the greatest competitive swimmers
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of our time. “I feel most at home in the water. I disappear. That’s where I belong.” After reading it I thought simply – Ditto. This compelling book opened my eyes to the endless possibilities of how this insight and water could help humanity in this complex moment in time. I had been intuitively effective with connecting people to the wonders of the ocean and water in general, but with the science and intellectual insight from Dr Nichol’s book I become more driven than ever to work on this. At the start of each workday, I stand in front of the Feature Exhibit at the Vancouver International Airport YVR – a satellite exhibit for the Vancouver Aquarium. Transported by the colour, life, complexity in the habitat our team has created, I see this connection in action. Past security in the International Terminal building where the exhibit is located – I observe as families, crews, and individuals gravitate to this beautiful vignette of our oceans, smile and relax. Anyone who travels by plane understands the need for some form of sanctuary when you get past the security checkpoints and head to your gate. This delivers that oasis in spades – partly due to the water, partly due to it being a slice of the ocean – a true dose of blue mind!
