What I Learned From A Sea Turtle!

I love sea turtles.  Whenever I visit Hawaii I always hope to see one.  Yesterday, we went to one of my favorite places to stand up paddle.  This place is know for the turtles that like to swim up the river.  I was secretly hoping to have an encounter with a turtle.  I did see one.  He popped his head up a couple of times but when I got close enough he went under.

We decided to to stop at another bay on the North Shore and I'm so glad we did.  Meet Woolly Bully.  He is a 270 pound Sea Turtle and has a story to tell.

He came a shore around 11:00am to rest and soak up the some sun.  (we have some things in common)  We got there about 5:30pm so he had been there for some time.  The markings on the top of his head are like finger prints.  They say no two turtle have the same markings.  They think he is about 40 years old.  A turtles expected life span is about 60-70 years.  He has a micro chip in him and holds the record for the deepest dive of 500 feet.  Amazing!

What make Woolly Bully unique is not his markings on his head or his record diving skills but that he is a survivor.  What do I mean by this?  Well, his bottom left flipper was bitten half of by a shark!

Now if I was Woolly I think I might not want to venture into the sea again.  To a turtle the sea can be a scary place.  You're food for Tiger Sharks!  But not this big guy.  He doesn't let fear hold him back.  He heads out to the sea everyday with his half bitten flipper. 

How many of us have fears thats hold us back?  How many of us have dreams we think are out of our reach.  I know I do.  I have to overcome self-doubt all the time.  So I have a challenge for you.  This week think about a dream you have always wanted to accomplish and work towards it.  Don't let fear hold you back.  I love this quote by Goeth.  "Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it.  Action has magic, grace, and power in it."

When you start to feel self-doubt think of Woolly Bully and his half bitten flipper.