Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever thought about the fact why you ever started diving?
Or why you continued after those first couple of breaths into the regulator? Why you plan your vacation so that you can go diving?
One word that I think of when I think of diving is of course Passion. That's what makes us buy expensive equipment, what makes us travel wide and far to be able to reach the best dive sites ever known to man, what makes us do research and constantly dream about where to go next. It's the passion about diving that makes us call it our hobby, or for some; Our dream job. It's the passion that makes us want to learn and know more, what makes us study, develop and push ourselves to reach the next level. It's the passion that makes us care for our diving gear like they are our babies and what makes us find friends for life and people alike all around the world. It's what makes us dive in freezing cold water in the northern hemisphere or what makes us push through an army of Jellyfish in the south. It's what makes us go on that bumpy boat ride to reach greater and more beautiful destinations. What makes us check in a bag full of diving euipment on our flight.
The thing that best symbolizes the passion within diving for me, is the wave of emotions I go through before an upcoming and during a dive. I'm excited, energetic and feel happy. It's crowded, noisy and frantic all around you. You can feel and almost touch the tension in the air oozing out from all of the people who's looking forward to go diving just as much as you. You gear up and jump in the water. You check with your buddies and you're all good to go, so you start to descend. And that's when it hits me; The silence. The only thing I can hear is my own breaths into the regulator. The resistance of the water makes everything slow and a calmness fills my body with a sence of tranquility. I just love the difference I feel from the bustling activity above the surface to the peace of mind that hits me as soon as I stroke my fins through the water. That's what makes me want to go diving again and again! What is it that makes you passionate about diving?
