If you read the front page story of the San Franciso 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 Farralone 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 ...a very dangerous proposition. One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer. 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 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 friend, in the same spirit.

That was truly beautiful, Marlene.

May you also recieve the same in your life.

Bec

Marlene, thanks for sharing that with us.

I had an interesting revelation, though, as I read it. It was about PTSD.

The whale = us (those w/PTSD)

Becoming entangled in the traps and lines = the trauma that gave us PTSD

The crab traps and lines and being weighted down by them = the crap we experience as a result of the PTSD (flashbacks, hypervigilance, etc.)

Barely being able to stay afloat = the feelings we experience before we begin, or just after beginning, the journey to healing ...like we can barely keep our head above water

The lines of rope tugging at her from every direction = the stressors in our life that cause the triggers

The fisherman = the doctor or therapist who gave us a name for what we were experiencing, thus helping us to realize we weren't going "crazy"

The rescue team = those doctors and therapists, spouses and friends who help us on our journey to recovery (the spouses and friends are like the diver risking their life; they take a chance in helping us, knowing along the way they, too, may be injured or hurt in some way)

I, myself, relate to what the whale must've felt like as they began to cut the lines. While I'm not yet free of all of the traps and lines, I am able to stay afloat much better than in the past.

I know that I'll have to watch out for more "webs" in my life, so I don't get caught in the traps, but at least I'll know what to look for and can hopefully deal with and react to it better.

I just hope one day I can swim around in joyous circles! Perhaps then I'll be able to look each and every rescuer in the eye to say "Thank you."

Kim,

This was sent to me by a friend that has helped and is helping to 'untangle' me. When I read it, I got the same feelings that you did. Getting this email was definately a nice way to start my day! :-)