Once you are comfortable with diving - and I mean to a point where you don't have to think about your buoyancy anymore, when you can equalize your ears without having to blow into your nose, and when being underwater is as normal as being on land - then you get the real joy of diving. Only then will you see what you have not noticed before when you were too busy adjusting your gear all the time. Up here, in the Pacific Northwest, for example, you will notice the seasons under water. There is spring, summer, fall and winter below the waves, just as it is on land, and each season has its own fauna and flora. You will notice who is prey and who is predator, and if you take your time, you will see that fish are not the simple creatures we make them out to be. You will laugh out loud watching a sea star do a back-flip on a smooth wall, and you may be startled to find out that a ling cod would challenge you to defend its eggs. You will notice the sea gulls and fir branches above when you lie on your back at 100 feet. You will notice the color of the water, and the rays of the sun playing on the sand. In short, once you are past the fear and the gear, you will see and understand the world under water more clearly. Diving always puts me on an even keel. It always puts things in perspective and makes me appreciate life. Maybe I'm getting narc'd too much...
