“The sea is emotion incarnate. It loves, hates, and weeps. It defies all attempts to capture it with words and rejects all shackles. No matter what you say about it, there is always that which you can’t.”

-- Christopher Paolini

Let’s take a moment, a break from our busy lives, and think about the ocean. It covers more of our planet than actual land does yet it is often portrayed as nothing much, just a nice backdrop in our pictures of the beach. It is much more though. It is filled with endless mysteries, animals and layers. Every one of these layers can be of value to us, because each holds exciting possibilities or activities for us to explore and appreciate.

The top layer, or the surface, has so many of these various awesome activities. One is surfing, which is fun for me for two main reasons. The first is the adrenaline rush I get from riding the raw force of the waves. The second is the calm connection I feel with nature while sitting peacefully in the middle of the ocean’s vastness. If these reasons don’t quite sound like your thing, well, the vastness holds more possibilities than just surfing. Some of these other activities in a list are: fishing, boating, parasailing, boogie boarding, jet skiing and body surfing. I’m sure if you check out all of these activities you’ll discover how great the ocean surface can be.

Going a layer down brings us right below the ocean’s surface. The main attraction at this level is the abundant amount of life you can find. I’ve found my favorite method of exploring this layer to be free diving. I take only my mask, snorkel and fins yet discover an entire foreign world waiting to be seen. Fish dart in every direction while sea slugs inch slowly around and the coral shows its many shapes and colors. Turtles, dolphins and sting rays may also make rare appearances, displaying their natural beauty and giving us the privilege of viewing them. This foreign world is not only visible through free diving but also diving, spear fishing and snorkeling, if these options sound more entertaining. However whenever you do see this layer of exotic life, your appreciation of the ocean will have no choice but to grow.

Reaching the bottom layer of the ocean takes us into unfathomable depths and mysteries. On this level you will find there are animals who have never seen the light of the sun. My favorite part about this deep sea zone is the mystery of what lives in it. What creatures haven’t been discovered? Why do they need to live so far below the surface, completing their lives in darkness? These questions are still being answered as this layer gets explored by electronic submarines. Admittedly, you or I can’t explore these great depths very easily, but there are many interesting films on the deep sea, giving us information on life in the deep.

The ocean provides us with a large number of possible experiences and I encourage you to get out and explore them for yourself. Find some new ways to appreciate these varied layers.