Long Life and Happiness

"What does the turtle symbolize?" the man had asked of the vendor, looking at a necklace with a carved turtle hanging from it.  We were in Lahaina a couple of days ago, and Mark overheard the conversation with the street vendor.

"Long life and happiness," was the reply.

"Right," Mark had commented later, recounting the story yesterday morning as we walked toward Big Beach.  "Like a billion other things that are supposed to symbolize the same thing.  A bottle of beer, for example."

Lahaina is a tourist town and it has dozens of little shops that cater to the tourists who want to pick up something to take home that captures something about their Hawaiian experience.

When I heard this story, I couldn't help but contrast what this tourist had been told about sea turtles with what my own experience has been.  I have seen three turtles swimming in the waters off Little Beach - two giant ones I saw while snorkeling and one young one that I saw just the other day.  I was standing in the water, early in the day when the water is usually at its calmest and clearest.  As the sun comes up over the hill behind Little Beach, it casts its rays directly into the water, and the ocean becomes like a giant swimming pool with a wave machine.

As I stood there, I saw a young turtle swimming towards me from the south, about six feet from where I was standing.  He surfaced almost right in front of me, giving me a clear view of his little head.  Then he submerged and swam on again toward the north.  The following picture is not mine, but it was taken off the coast of Maui; my turtle was a little smaller, and I was much closer to his level, and all I saw above water was his little head.

One sees a lot of souvenirs with turtle emblems on them, and the reason is not because the sea turtle symbolizes long life and happiness; it symbolizes itself, and the presence of sea turtles off its coasts gives Maui part of its character and identity.  The turtle's image brings to my mind clear turquoise water, views of Kaho'olawe and Molokini and sun-soaked beaches.

But beyond this, it symbolizes for me my Hawaii experience.  I don't mean to be critical of the tourist in Lahaina, and I realize that people sometimes just don't have the time or the opportunity to really experience a foreign place.  That being said, the little exchange between the tourist and the street vendor brings to mind the difference between, on the one hand, tourists who never go beneath the surface of a place (usually because they don't know any better) but yet want to take home an object that gives meaning to their experience, and on the other hand travelers whose souvenirs (the French word for memories) are their experiences.

The contrasting symbolism between (a) swimming with sea turtles and (b) taking home a sea turtle necklace (because it symbolizes long life and happiness), also has larger applications for life in general.  For most of my life, I was a necklace purchaser.  Rather than (metaphorically) swimming with tea turtles, I purchased necklaces to give, as I supposed, "long life and happiness."  From now on, I want to swim with sea turtles.  I want to experience life authentically, directly and passionately.

As Mark and I continued our trek across Big Beach yesterday morning underneath a brilliantly blue sky, feeling the sun's rays on my back and a gentle breeze in my face, I thought about how wonderful the previous day had been; it had brought pleasant surprises, and it was simply an amazing day.  But, I thought as we walked, I will not judge the coming day by the previous day's standards.  The days don't compete.  They don't need to.  Each day is Now.  And in the Now, lies the beauty.

Returning to the tourist's original question - What does the sea turtle symbolize? - to me, it symbolizes embracing life.  It symbolizes living in the Now, not worrying about where I've come from or where I'm going.  For the Now - just like the emergence of the young turtle's head above the waves - only lasts a moment, and in that moment lies wonder.