Beneath the Below

Mermaid by Tina Gates

Beneath the waves
She lives in a world all her own
Where everything is quiet and peaceful,
Far removed from the chaos of the world above.
Here she is free...
She is happy in the moment, floating in her watery oasis.
Soon she will swim to the surface once more.
But she feels comforted knowing this is her secret place
And that she may return whenever her heart desires.


I am reminded of when I was young, maybe 10 or 11, we had a little pool in our back garden, and in the summer, I spent many hours in the water - couldn't get enough of it...I think I have always been a water baby. Anyway, I remember I used to do these weird sorts of twirls over and over again in the water.  It occurred to me recently that I had probably discovered meditation, even at that young age, because I would do it for a very long time, and felt so completely relaxed and blissed out.

It wouldn't be until many years later, when I began to study Art Therapy, that I learnt how to meditate and become mindful...isn't it funny that I think I had discovered it all of those years ago, because I was so completely in the moment, nothing else existed except twirling in the water...it seems that I lost that gift somewhere along the way.

I am grateful that I have found it again...