Why do it?

We people typically forget our early childhood; all of our memories are firmly planted on the ground, bounded by gravity and the limitations of our bodies and minds. Many of the animals that we interact with are very like us. They breathe air like us, walk around like us; we can relate. Underwater, the atmosphere is toxic to us to breathe, the creatures are strange and unpredictable, and the plants are completely unfamiliar. It’s an alien world. The most fantastic aspect of breathing underwater, however, is the beautiful calm of weightlessness felt when gravity meets its match in neutral buoyancy. Flying through the water, moving in three dimensions; it’s a dream come true.

Learning to dive takes time, money, and effort to do safely, and there is always some danger. We don’t breathe water naturally, and learning to operate the equipment and respond to emergencies, and the limitations, is critical. If practiced, however, I consider diving to be a relatively safe activity.

I care about diving, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not really consequential. Why go scuba diving? To see what can be seen; to fly.

Under the ice at Lake Wazee, WI