Turtles point of view

I went camping in the woods last week. Spur of the moment decision. It was raining and thundering out when I left, but that made it even better. I set up camp, enjoyed myself for a few hours in the quiet peace, then fell asleep.

I woke up only 5 hours later feeling fresh and alive. The woods are always such a livening place for me. I packed my things and headed back. Close to the end, I came to a path that lead to a river. I had peed here earlier. Perhaps it was this familiarity that made me walk over to the ledge again this time. I laid my bags down and sat myself down next to them.

The river water was murky and dark. Too clouded to see through. I could make out a few ripples in the water where some fish were gathered on the far side of the water. Just above them, on the bank opposite me, sat a turtle. We sat and held eyes at one another for a short while, quiet, still, peaceful like the woods around us. It was still early morning and everything else was sleeping. It was just the turtle and I above, and the fish below.

I continued to sit and just look around. More of a stare than a look really, as I let my senses be wrapped up in the moist air and carried off by sounds of the river and the whistle of birds. It was blissful. The first time in a while I truly felt calm and connected. Centered and together. But I knew I had to go back to town. I had to go back where I came from. Just then, the turtle moved. He made his way to the water's edge and slipped into the muddy river where the fish were swimming.

Such timing he had, leaving when I was thinking of it. I began to draw parallels between myself and the turtle almost immediately. It lead to the question, "does the turtle tell the fish of his experience on land?"

The water was so dark and clouded, there's no way the fish could see clearly. Only the turtle, by removing himself from the clouded water, had a true view of what it was like. I felt like that turtle. Like I'm living in a muddy river, dark and dirty, but I'm only able to notice this from the shore.

But how do you explain land to a fish? To someone who lives in water, what is air? To someone who swims in darkness, what is  sun? To someone who fights currents and tides, what is wind or weather? What is dryness to the wet? What is heaven to the living?